Proposed bill would give Nevada final say on Yucca Mountain

Mar 12 - Las Vegas Sun (NV)

For years, Sen. Harry Reid has declared a proposed project to store nuclear waste in Nevada's Yucca Mountain dead.

But just in case the project comes back to life in this new Republican Congress , Nevada's senior senator and three members from the state's congressional delegation introduced legislation today to give states the power to block such projects.

If passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama , the Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act would require written consent from a state's governor, affected local government and affected Indian tribes before the federal government could create a nuclear waste repository in the state.

The bill "ensures that Nevada and every other state has a meaningful voice in the process if they are considered for a nuclear waste repository," Reid's office said in a statement. Nevada's governor, Republican Brian Sandoval , opposes the Yucca Mountain project.

Reid, a Democrat, Sen. Dean Heller , a Republican, Rep. Dina Titus , a Las Vegas Democrat, and Rep. Joe Heck , a Republican representing the Las Vegas suburbs, introduced the bill.

Its chances in a Republican Congress are dim.

The bill comes as there are renewed stirrings in Congress to store highly radioactive nuclear waste in the mountain about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas .

Rep. John Shimkus , an Illinois Republican, plans to introduce legislation this summer moving forward with the Yucca Mountain project, and observers believe his bill could have enough votes to pass the House of Representatives .

In a statement, Shimkus called the bill by members of Nevada's delegation a "gambit" that "stands little chance" in the House.

As for the Senate , Reid's office notes that bipartisan legislation was drafted last year requiring, in part, some level of consent from a state for a nuclear repository.

Notably not included in the new legislation are the other two members of Nevada's congressional delegation: Republican Reps. Mark Amodei and Cresent Hardy .

Hardy has said he's open to the project "if it's safe," and Amodei has said he believes there's room for negotiation on the issue.

Heller said today that Nevada would have an easier time pushing against any renewed Yucca Mountain efforts if all six members of the delegation were on board.

"It's important that we speak in one voice," Heller said. "Nothing hurts legislation more -- not just this topic, any topic -- if the principals involved aren't on the same page."

Congress designated Yucca Mountain as the spot for the nation's nuclear waste in 1987, though Reid and environmentalists have successfully stalled the project since then.

A five-volume Nuclear Regulatory Commission safety report finished this year determined waste stored in Yucca Mountain would be safe for 1 million years, and pro-nuclear trade group Nuclear Energy Institute says it supports a nuclear repository wherever the law says it should go.

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