Feb 16 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Sammy Fretwell The State, Columbia, S.C.



Gov. Mark Sanford, two U.S. congressman and other Republicans blasted President Barack Obama this morning for abandoning a plan to send highly radioactive nuclear waste to a disposal site in Nevada -- a move they said will leave the Palmetto State holding tons of high-level nuclear waste.

And if Obama doesn't reconsider the decision, they pledged to support a lawsuit to force the atomic waste disposal site in Nevada to open. Although few Democrats were at Tuesday's press conference, Sanford and others said the issue of whether to open Yucca Mountain cuts across party lines.

"This is issue is too big to be driven by partisan politics in Washington, D.C.," Sanford said, noting that the administration's proposal will "undo a 25-year solution that's been in place during and Republican and Democratic presidential administrations."

The federal government has been working to open the Yucca Mountain project since the early 1980s and Republicans said has spent some $10 billion since that time. The Obama administration has decided to zero out funding next year for the Yucca Mountain site. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, has fought against the project, citing environmental concerns in his state.

 If it doesn't open, South Carolina's Savannah River Site nuclear weapons complex could be left with multiple thousands of cans of high-level atomic waste produced mostly during the Cold War. The state's commercial nuclear plants also would not have a place to send high-level waste generated from power production, which would force them to continue storing it on site.

Sanford, a former congressman, was flanked Tuesday by Republican U.S. Reps. Joe Wilson and Gresham Barrett, a GOP candidate to succeed Sanford as governor. Others attending the news conference at the State House included GOP candidate Nikki Haley, R-Lexington, state Rep. Jeff Duncan, a congressional candidate from Laurens; state Sen. Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken; and members of the Aiken County Council.

Attorney General Henry McMaster, also a GOP candidate for governor, did not attend the news conference, but said in a statement he's weighing legal action to challenge Obama's decision.

"Following President Obama's announcement, my office immediately began researching what legal avenues and remedies are available to South Carolina,'' McMaster said. "This includes consultation and collaborative discussions with attorneys general in similarly situated states, utility executives, nuclear industry legal experts, former DOE officials, and state and local officials from the Aiken-Savannah River (Site) community.''

Sanford said Democrats had been invited to the news conference, but few showed up. One of those was Lawana McKenzie, an Aiken County Council member. She said the issue is whether South Carolina should continue to hold tons of high-level nuclear waste at Savannah River.

If South Carolina leaders "aren't supporting our stand on this, then they're not representing the citizens of South Carolina,'' she said. "SRS was never built to be a repository. We're not prepared for this. What we've been holding at that site has always been in preparation for moving it.''

Ryberg said he will introduce legislation to divert any more payments by power customers that are being charged for the Yucca Mountain site. South Carolina has spent some $1.2 billion toward the site, according to Sanford's office.

Reach Fretwell at (803) 771-8537.

(c) 2010, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services