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Boulder City Magazine® May 2008 Issue
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Reid Report
by Senator Harry Reid
Senate Majority Leader
Keeping Up The Fight Against Yucca Mountain
I have led Nevada’s fight against the ill-conceived Yucca Mountain Project for more than 20 years now, to keep the most dangerous substance known to man off our nation’s highways and railways, and more importantly, out of Nevada. |
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A number of events over the past year indicate that the national sentiment about Yucca Mountain is changing for the better. Some of the Project’s biggest supporters are now recognizing that it is time to look for new solutions to nuclear waste.
Earlier this month, in front of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water, Senator Pete Domenici, once a staunch proponent of the Yucca Mountain Project, told the Department of Energy (DOE) that Yucca is a flawed policy and should be replaced. I’m pleased Senator Domenici recognizes the need to find alternatives for waste storage.
Additionally, Congressman David Hobson from Ohio told the DOE earlier this year that the Yucca Mountain Project is “on life support.” He also expressed concern that DOE has bullishly failed to look at any other option for Nuclear Waste besides Yucca Mountain. Congressman Hobson has been one of the strongest supporters of the Project in the House.
On April 3, the DOE Inspector General released a report showing they did not act in the public’s best interest when it knowingly awarded a $100 million no-bid contract to Morgan Lewis & Bockius, a law firm with clear and blatant conflicts of interest, to defend the Yucca Mountain Project on behalf of the DOE. One of Morgan Lewis’ problems is that it is suing the DOE for not opening up Yucca Mountain on behalf of several nuclear power companies. This action proves that DOE cares more about protecting the interests of the nuclear industry than the health and safety of Nevadans.
I’ve once again succeeded in cutting Yucca’s budget. In 2007, I successfully cut project funding by $104.5 million, nearly crippling day-to-day operations at the proposed site.
Despite growing opposition to Yucca Mountain, continued budget cuts, flawed science, the dangers of transporting waste, and their own investigations acknowledging the public’s best interest is not being served, DOE continues to move forward.
The safe, secure, and intelligent thing for DOE to do would be to support the Federal Accountability for Nuclear Waste Storage Act. Senator Ensign and I proposed this legislation last year to deal with the challenges of managing our nation’s nuclear waste by requiring that it be stored at the facilities where it is produced, which will keep Nevada—and our nation’s roads—safe. It will also give us at least a century to find a realistic and safe solution for nuclear waste.
Contact Harry Reid at http://reid.senate.gov/
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