Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Bingaman and distinguished members of the subcommittee, my name is Erle Nye. I am chairman and chief executive of Texas Utilities Company. My company owns and operates two nuclear units at the Comanche Peak nuclear power plant in Somervell County, Texas. Unit 1 went into operation in 1990 and Unit 2 went into operation in 1993. Together, the Comanche Peak units and the South Texas Project nuclear units operated by STP Nuclear Operating Company in Matagorda County provide more than 4,800 megawatts of electricity to Texas, the fourth-largest nuclear-power electricity generation portfolio of any state.

I am also chairman of the Nuclear Energy Institute, and today I am representing the nuclear energy industry's position on S. 608, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1999.

I want to express my gratitude to you, Mr. Chairman, as well as to Senators Craig, Grams and Crapo for introducing this important legislation in the Senate earlier this month. I also want to compliment this committee for its continuing commitment to resolving the nuclear waste issue. Broad bipartisan support for similar legislation to S. 608 during the last two Congresses is a clear signal that the Administration must fulfill its statutory obligation to accept used nuclear fuel and that the Administration must adopt an integrated plan, such as S. 608, to manage the nation's nuclear energy byproducts.