Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Sandoval covers pot, Yucca Mountain in meetings with federal officials

Sandoval

Andrew Harnik / AP

Gov. Brian Sandoval, left, laughs whiles speaking before President Donald Trump signs the Education Federalism Executive Order during a federalism event with governors in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, April 26, 2017.

The state is moving forward with its plans to implement recreational marijuana and push back against plans to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, Gov. Brian Sandoval told federal officials in Washington, D.C.

Sandoval spent time this week with Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt.

Sandoval told reporters Friday that he disagrees with the Trump administration’s stance on Yucca Mountain as well as a proposed $230 million reduction in funding for the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act, which has allowed for the sale of land to protect other areas. His conversations with federal officials covered these issues as well as marijuana, mining, immigration and infrastructure.

The governor said he invited himself to a meeting with Zinke and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead. Sandoval said he advocated for Nevada’s plan to manage greater sage-grouse, a species that’s been singled out by conservation efforts in the West.

Sandoval said he was also there this week when President Donald Trump signed an executive order that directs Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to study the federal government’s role in education. He said the order is about giving more control to states.

“No two states are the same when it comes to education,” Sandoval said.

Yucca Mountain

In a conversation with Perry, he reiterated Nevada’s opposition to Yucca Mountain as a site to store the nation’s nuclear waste. The conversation was a follow-up to a meeting they had in Las Vegas after Perry toured the Yucca Mountain site.

“I’ve always made it extremely clear to him that when it comes to Yucca Mountain, I am absolute in my opposition to that project,” Sandoval said.

Sandoval said he and former Texas governor Perry know each other, but that the two are “not friends” when it comes to Yucca Mountain.

“It is not a site that can geologically isolate the waste,” Sandoval said. “It is a fractured rock that sits on an earthquake fault above an aquifer that can’t safely store it.”

Sandoval’s D.C. visit coincided with much of Nevada’s congressional delegation testifying against Yucca during a House subcommittee hearing on draft legislation to restart the project. He said the elected Nevada officials did a great job of representing their opposition and that he had also submitted a letter for the record noting Nevada’s stance.

Sandoval said he told Perry that “we’re all supportive of a consent-based process, and he’s got a place in his home state that is willing to take” high-level nuclear waste on an interim level.

“There will be no mercy and no quarter when it comes to Yucca Mountain, as long as I’m here,” said Sandoval, who is nearing the end of his two-term limit as governor.

Marijuana

Sandoval told Sessions the state is moving forward with its recreational marijuana program and is making plans for tax revenue from these future sales. State budget plans include an extra $69 million from projected recreational pot tax revenue.

“I feel good about including that in my budget,” Sandoval said.

Sandoval said he brought up marijuana to get guidance on the federal government’s plans. He said he and Sessions have both been public about their opposition to recreational marijuana.

He said he reminded the attorney general that medical marijuana is in the state’s constitution and recreational marijuana is the will of the voters.

“I did advise him that it’s in our state law, and we’re moving forward, and that I’m going to ensure that it is as tightly regulated as possible,” Sandoval said.

Immigration

Sandoval said he urged the attorney general to revisit the issue of whether Clark County is a "sanctuary" site, where law enforcement officials do not take a role in immigration issues.

Clark County was one of the communities to get a federal warning that grants were at stake if documentation could not be provided proving cooperation with immigration authorities, according to the Associated Press. The county has said it is not a sanctuary community.

“I think there’s been some confusion with regard to that,” Sandoval said.

Sandoval said he told Sessions that Metro Police is one of the few agencies with a 287 (g) agreement with the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement. These programs utilize local authorities in enforcing federal immigration policy.

Sandoval said he encouraged the attorney general or a member of his staff to speak with Lombardo.

“Certainly there’s going to be somebody pretty high up the food chain that is going to be having conversations with the Sheriff,” he said.

Infrastructure

Sandoval also discussed infrastructure with White House staffers D.J. Gribbin, special assistant to the president for infrastructure policy, and Justin Clark, director of intergovernmental affairs.

He said the Trump administration has made infrastructure a focus. Sandoval said he provided federal officials with a priority list of projects, such as Interstate 11 between Las Vegas and Phoenix and a train connecting Southern Nevada to California.

“These are all big infrastructure projects that we’d like to be considered,” Sandoval said.

Sandoval said his meeting gave him the impression that the White House wants to work with states that have taken steps to help themselves. He pointed to Clark County approving fuel indexing in November. Fuel indexing helps revenue from gas sales keep pace with inflation, and Sandoval said it will add billions of dollars for transportation projects.

Northern Nevada approved fuel indexing even sooner, he said.

“The White House, I think, was impressed with the fact that Nevada is very progressive in the sense of we are funding our roads and our bridges and our infrastructure,” Sandoval said. “They’ve asked for more information, and we will continue to work with them.”

Mining

Sandoval said he and Pruitt discussed proposed mining regulations that are duplicative of what’s already required in Nevada. An extended comment period on the plan lasts until mid-2017.

Those regulations, Sandoval says, would be costly and could put some mining companies out of business.

The governor also pushed for a private solution to cleaning up the Anaconda Copper Mine in Yerington as opposed to seeking federal dollars through a Superfund Site designation.

Sandoval said the D.C. visit was positive. He said he was happy with the access he had to Cabinet members, and he plans to continue to have conversations with federal officials.