Challenge to Yucca readied

CARSON CITY -- The state probably has enough money initially to challenge the federal government if Yucca Mountain is approved as the nation's nuclear waste dump, the head of Nevada's Nuclear Projects Office said today.

Robert Loux, the director of the office, told the state Senate Finance Committee that his office and the state attorney general's office "probably have adequate resources" to launch a battle against designation of Yucca Mountain.

Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is the only site being studied to store 77,000 tons of highly radioactive waste from nuclear power plants and defense waste. The Energy Department is expected to make a recommendation to President Bush later this year or possibly early next year

Loux was questioned by Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, about what groundwork should be laid if the site is recommended. Rawson was worried that the Legislature may not be in session and able to act when the decision is announced.

Loux said a resolution is being prepared for the Legislature saying it disapproves of any plan to accept the nuclear dump. He added that the finances to fight a dump are adequate only for the "short run."

Gov. Kenny Guinn has proposed a $5 million special appropriation for his office to conduct an advertising program in other states to warn them about the dangers of transporting nuclear waste through their urban areas to Yucca Mountain.

Deputy State Budget Director Don Hataway told the committee that the entire $5 million may be needed for a "full legal challenge" to keep the materials from being shipped to Nevada.

In a later appearance before the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, Loux said the special $5 million appropriation proposed by the governor will be used for education.

It will be used for rallies, press conferences and other programs to get the word out about the dangers of transporting the waste through urban areas and along major highways, Loux said.

Sen. Lawrence Jacobsen, R-Minden, who chairs the legislative committee on nuclear waste, said his committee has not agreed on a recommendation to make to the Legislature.

"It is difficult to get the committee to agree on what stand to take," he said.

Jacobsen said he has visited Yucca Mountain 15 times and the committee has inspected other sites. For instance, he said, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., was opposed by residents in the past who feared the burial of transuranic waste. But the public now accepts it, he said, and New Mexico gets $16 million a year from the federal government for roads and other programs.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said, however, that Nevada should receive $100 million for just allowing the federal government to dig at Yucca Mountain.

Loux said the Department of Energy is now concentrating most of its research on the reliability of the casks that the waste would be stored in.

Loux said state researchers believe the casks will last less than 400 years underground. The Energy Department may have to look for a new type of metal, he said.

The budget for Loux's office calls for $4.1 million in each of the coming two years.

The program includes a $2.5 million federal appropriation each year, plus about $1 million from the state general fund and money from the state Transportation Department.

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