Yucca Mountain is located in Nye County, Nevada on the western edge of the Nevada Test Site. 

Scientists have long considered Yucca Mountain a promising site for a repository due to the area’s:

Dry climate
Remoteness
Stable geology
Deep water table
Closed water basin
Restricted Access

The Nye County Nuclear Waste Repository Project Office (NWRPO) has been conducting repository oversight studies. The Early Warning Drilling Program (EWDP) was initiated as part of  the  NWRPO  Independent Scientific Investigations Program (ISIP).  The purpose  of  the  EWDP is  to  establish  a   ground-water monitoring system  and to  provide  geologic  and hydrologic information that is needed and has been missing from DOE's program.