Nevada governor takes veto to Washington to kill nuclear dump

[Susan L Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>]

Nevada governor takes veto to Washington to kill nuclear dump

By Ken Ritter, Associated Press

Tuesday, April 09, 2002



LAS VEGAS — Nevada stepped up its campaign against burying nuclear

waste in the state on Monday as the governor vetoed a presidential

endorsement and activists readied a lobbying campaign to reinforce his

action. 



In February, President Bush picked Yucca Mountain as the place to

entomb up to 77,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel that will remain

radioactive for 10,000 years. The site is 90 miles northwest of Las

Vegas. 



A veto of Bush's endorsement was signed on Friday by Republican Gov.

Kenny Guinn and was delivered to the House and Senate on Monday.

"Let me make one thing clear — crystal clear, in fact. Yucca Mountain is

not inevitable," Guinn told supporters Monday before heading to

Washington to lobby on behalf of the state's position. 



Energy Department spokesman Joe Davis said the Yucca Mountain

project has received a thorough review by scientists. "It is strongly in

the interest of national security, energy and homeland security, and

environmental protection to move forward and not leave waste stranded

in 131 scattered sites around the country," Davis said. 



Guinn's veto was allowed under rules Congress wrote for developing a

national nuclear waste dump. Congress will have the final say, however,

and a vote on whether to override Guinn is expected before August. 



Opponents of the Yucca Mountain plan were organizing a coast-to-coast

lobbying campaign against an override vote. The governor asked Nevada

residents to each donate $1 or more to the lobbying campaign 



"We will expose the Department of Energy's dirty little secrets about

Yucca Mountain," Guinn said, saying Americans have not been told of

the danger of transporting nuclear waste through their neighborhoods. 



Opposition to the project is overwhelming in Nevada. "Nuclear energy

can be a good thing," Earl McGhee, a 74-year-old retiree, said from his

home in Amargosa Valley, less than 15 miles from Yucca Mountain. "But

if it's mishandled, it's a bad thing. A long-time bad thing." 



The lobbying effort is being directed by two former White House chiefs

of staff: Democrat John Podesta, who worked for President Clinton, and

Republican Kenneth Duberstein, who worked for President Reagan. The

campaign is to include television ads targeting lawmakers in races that

could swing on votes from environmentalists. 



Spent nuclear fuel has accumulated for decades at power plants and

defense facilities in 34 states, as lawmakers debated whether and

where to establish a national repository. 



Opponents of the Yucca Mountain project, led by environmentalists and

Nevada's congressional delegation, are focusing their lobbying effort on

the Senate, considering it almost certain that the Republican-controlled

House will side with Bush. 



Nevada's campaign will focus on lingering questions about the safety of

the Yucca Mountain site and fears that the thousands of truck and train

trips it will take to haul the waste across the country will lead to

accidents and potential radioactive spills.

-- 

.....................................................

Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director

Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee

We've moved!  Please note our new address:

102 Robertsville Road, Suite B, Oak Ridge, TN 37830

.....................................................

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