UPDATE - US govt endorses Nevada nuclear waste site
Date: 11-Jan-02
Country: USA
Author: Chris Baltimore and Tom Doggett
A repository would be built under Yucca Mountain, 90 miles (144 km) from Las
Vegas, under the plan endorsed by Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. The site
would store 70,000 tons of radioactive materials from the nation's nuclear power
plants for about 10,000 years deep within the mountain.
Abraham telephoned Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn, a Republican, on Thursday
afternoon to inform him of the long-awaited decision.
"I am damn disappointed in this decision," Guinn said in a statement. "At the
conclusion of the call I told the secretary that I think this decision stinks,
the whole process stinks and we'll see him in court."
Abraham said he will forward a formal recommendation to President George W. Bush
in 30 days, the time allotted by law for Guinn to review the controversial
proposal.
NATIONAL SECURITY CITED
Abraham emphasized that a single U.S. waste site was crucial for national
security since the Sept. 11 attacks in Washington and New York, which raised
public and political concern about guarding the nation's radioactive material.
"There are compelling national interests that require us to complete the siting
process and move forward with the development of a repository, as Congress
mandated almost 20 years ago," Abraham said in a letter to the governor.
The Yucca Mountain site, which will not be in operation until at least 2010, will
help "ensure America's national security," the Energy Department said in a
statement.
Used fuel from the nation's 103 nuclear power plants is piling up at a rate of
about 2,000 tonnes a year, according to the U.S. utility industry, which has
pressed the federal government to designate Yucca Mountain as a waste repository.
The Nuclear Energy Institute praised Abraham's decision as "the right scientific
thing to do" to safely manage the huge amounts of nuclear waste generated by
power plants. Putting all the waste in one secure site is better than forcing
individual nuclear power plants to store it, the trade group said.
Green groups and Nevada lawmakers object to the proposal, citing safety worries
about long-term radiation leaks, geologic faults near the site and underground
water movement.
DEMOCRATS OPPOSE PLAN
The proposal faces stiff opposition from senior Democrats on Capitol Hill.
Nevada Senator Harry Reid, the body's No. 2 Democrat, has repeatedly said he
would fight a waste dump at Yucca Mountain.
"I think (Bush) should do nothing. He has wide discretion as to what he does with
the recommendation of his energy secretary," Reid told Reuters in a telephone
interview.
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle also criticized the plan, calling it
"unfortunate and premature." Scores of scientific studies are still underway and
until they are finished, the government should not choose a site, he said.
"The safety of the American people, not political pressure from the energy
industry, should be the overriding concern," Daschle said in a statement.
Other politicians also reacted swiftly and angrily.
Republican Senator John Ensign had "a 10-minute conversation with (Abraham) where
he expressed outrage over the decision," said an aide to the senator in Reno,
Nevada.
Rep. Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat and long-time critic of the nuclear
industry for safety reasons, said the decision was based on politics, not
science.
"Other sites were struck because of the political clout of their congressional
delegations," Markey said in a statement. Alternative sites in Louisiana, Texas,
New Hampshire, and North Carolina were blocked by such action, he said.
Meanwhile, Idaho senators Larry Craig and Mike Crapo both applauded the decision
as "great news" for their home state, which wants to ship waste outside its
borders.
CONGRESS WILL VOTE ON PLAN
Although the Energy Department's endorsement is a key step in the process, the
plan for a repository at Yucca Mountain still faces several obstacles before
c