The DOE budget sent to Congress on Monday contains $2 million for the new positions. All told, the department plans to spend $3 million to beef up the federal side of the project.

Most of the new hires would be assigned to the Yucca Mountain office in Las Vegas, Sproat said. Already, 186 federal employees are on the program in Las Vegas and in Washington.

While the government side is growing, other segments of the project are shrinking. Budget cuts prompted operations contractor Bechtel SAIC Co., to announce a layoff schedule for between 140 and 180 workers.

Last month 63 Bechtel SAIC employees were given job notices although about 20 accepted transfers out of state.

From a recent peak of about 2,700 employees on the Yucca project in October 2007, a net 900 jobs will be reduced by this summer, Sproat said.

Sproat said the Energy Department traditionally has relied heavily on contractors that work on Yucca Mountain. DOE will need to demonstrate stronger internal management when it seeks a repository license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, he said.

"We are going to be ramping up the federal staffing of the organization to really start to build the internal capability with additional people, so we are in a better position to manage the construction and operation of the repository," Sproat told reporters in a conference call.

Sproat said employees targeted for layoffs elsewhere in the program can apply for a new federal job. DOE will seek technicians, engineers, people with nuclear construction and operations experience, and those with business and training backgrounds.

A spokesman for program critic Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the job shifts will mean little in the long run.

DOE "has said they would be adding staff for the licensing process, but at the end of the day no matter how you look at it, the budget cuts are a loss for them," spokesman Jon Summers said.