Approximately 55 tons of nuclear waste sits in temporary storage facilities in 34 different states, according to Rep. Joe Atkins.

The Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Storage Facility in Nevada was supposed to be completed in 1998. But more than a decade later, Yucca Mountain is still empty—although Minnesota ratepayers and 33 other nuclear power states have doled-out hundreds of millions of dollars for the facility since the early 1980s.

Atkins introduced legislation Thursday to withhold Minnesota’s payments to the Nuclear Waste Fund until Yucca Mountain is completed and starts accepting nuclear waste.

"Minnesotans have been forced to make 26 years worth of payments and have nothing to show for it," said Atkins.

As of the third quarter of 2008, Minnesotans have paid $375.9 million to the Nuclear Waste Fund.

Xcel Energy ratepayers in Minnesota continue to pay $13 million every year to the fund through a

0.001 cent surcharge per kilowatt hour generated from nuclear power. Xcel customers are charged this fee because the power company is the only Minnesota utility operating nuclear power facilities in the state.

"Xcel Energy has 1.2 million electricity customers in Minnesota," said Atkins. "With interest, the amount paid to the Nuclear Waste Fund by Minnesotans thus far represents over $549 per person. Minnesotans have already paid their dues for a nonexistent service that was supposed to keep them safe. Enough is enough."

Several utility companies, including Xcel, have already made attempts to get that money back by filing claims against the United States Department of Energy.

Xcel won their complaints after DOE failed to begin removal of spent nuclear fuel from commercial reactors by Jan. 31, 1998—the deadline established by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. While Xcel won $116 million in the lawsuit, Atkins says the DOE hasn’t made a payment.

Rep. Atkins is encouraging lawmakers from other nuclear states to consider introducing similar legislation in an effort to pressure the federal government into action.

If passed, Atkins’ bill would stop payment from Minnesota to the Nuclear Waste Fund. The bill has been introduced in the Minnesota House of Representatives.