Lawmakers Deny `Crazy' Nuclear Waste Dump Rumor ; Maine's Delegation Says Closed Military Bases Are Not at Risk of Becoming Nuclear Waste Facilities.
Jun 01 - Portland Press Herald
Members of Maine's congressional delegation said Tuesday there is no chance that the state's military bases, if closed, could become nuclear waste repositories.
The actual bill does not specify where the temporary dump would be, but a
report attached to the bill suggests the Department of Energy investigate other
federally owned sites, including closed military bases.
Maine officials, who are in the midst of fighting against the closure of the
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and the realignment of the Brunswick Air Naval
Station, called any future plans for the bases premature and added that the mere
suggestion of a nuclear waste facility at either location was ridiculous at
best.
Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, called the provision "crazy" and stated
emphatically that there would be no such site in Maine.
"This is an outrageous suggestion," Allen said Tuesday. "First
of all, no bases have been closed yet. I think more likely than not, this is
coming from members of Congress who haven't been able to solve the Yucca
Mountain issue yet."
The federal government has chosen Yucca Mountain in Nevada as a central,
permanent nuclear waste repository. But various legal challenges and other
problems have delayed the opening of Yucca Mountain until at least 2010.
In the meantime, the government has stored its nuclear waste at 129 different
interim sites scattered around the country. But a spokesman for the Department
of Energy said Yucca Mountain remains the "right policy for America."
"The department is currently reviewing the proposal," said Mike
Waldron of the Department of Energy. "However, we remain committed to the
opening of the Yucca Mountain repository in the Nevada desert where spent
nuclear fuel can be permanently, safely stored away from population centers or
other sensitive environmental areas."
Antonia Ferrier, spokeswoman for Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said the
senator would never allow the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to be converted into a
repository for nuclear waste.
"The possibility of having a nuclear waste repository there is
reprehensible," Ferrier said. "Sen. Snowe would ensure that no such
language is included in the Senate version of the bill."
Ferrier went on to say that the shipyard - which is located on Seavey Island
at the mouth of the Piscataqua River - would be "completely ill-suited to
house nuclear waste."
Her sentiments were echoed by representatives of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine,
who said the senator would vigorously oppose any efforts to put a nuclear waste
facility in Maine.
Staff Writer Jen Fish can be contacted at 282-8229 or at: