AUBURN – State Rep. Deborah Simpson, D-Auburn, has been appointed to the National Conference of State Legislatures’ High-Level Radioactive Waste Working Group by Speaker of the House Glenn Cummings.

The group gathers information about the interim storage, transportation and disposal of spent fuel from commercial nuclear power plants, as well as other high-level radioactive wastes, and shares that information with legislators to aid them in making informed public policy decisions.

The group also works with the U.S. Department of Energy, other federal agencies, state and local jurisdictions and interested parties to accomplish the mission

Appointment to the national working group is determined by legislative leadership in 42 states with nuclear facilities or along potential transportation routes.

While Maine does not have a nuclear facility in operation, radioactive waste remains in-state from the decommissioned Maine Yankee Atomic Power Plant, which was located in Wiscasset. While the federal government is responsible for ultimate off-site disposal, Simpson says it has not assumed responsibility.

“Maine Yankee has shut down, but high-level radioactive waste remains in Wiscasset,” said Simpson.

“We have an interest in working nationally to get the federal government to fulfill their obligation to open the national waste repository and take ownership of and remove the Maine Yankee waste as they were legally required to years ago,” Simpson said.

Simpson says she will work to resolve the issue so the state can remediate the site to reassume the character and quality of Wiscasset’s unique coastal terrain and make it suitable for redevelopment or recreation.