LUSBY, Md. (AP) — The federal Nuclear Waste Fund has collected about $24 billion over nearly three decades for a central repository to store used fuel rods, yet not a single rod has been picked up.

Meanwhile, plant operators such as Constellation Energy Group and partner Electricite de France must pay the fees and cost of storing fuel onsite.

In its annual report filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Constellation warned uncertainty over the repository would continue. The U.S. Department of Energy’s plan for a repository in Nevada was nixed last year and there is no money in this year’s budget for the project.

Constellation sued over the fees in 2004, one of 74 such suits to date. Federal officials say the suits have cost the government $168 million.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)