Monday, May 6, 2019 | 2 a.m.
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The Department of Energy has reached a new level of outrage in trying to defend its secret shipment of plutonium to our state.
Last week, in an argument to dismiss the state’s lawsuit challenging the shipment, the department contended that Nevadans were displaying a “remarkable” disregard for national security in pushing back on the matter.
What kind of sick brain came up with this? It’s sort of like sneaking all of your household hazardous chemicals into your neighbor’s garage and then, when they complain, accusing them of having “remarkable” disregard for the environment.
By this argument, Nevada should simply roll over and allow the feds to do anything they want to our state in the name of national security. Accept a shipment of highly radioactive, weapons-grade plutonium without so much as a courtesy call? Lucky us! Please, sir, may we have another?
But enough sarcasm, because this is anything but a laughing matter.
Let’s make this crystal clear: Nevada has done more than its fair share for national security over the years, and it continues to do so today. Not only do we store radioactive material at the Nevada National Security Site, we are proud to be home to Nellis Air Force Base and other military installations that help protect our nation from foreign threats.
And let’s not even get started with the sacrifices our state made during the decades when live nuclear tests were carried out here.
Disregard for national security? That’s a blood-boiling insult. Nevada does its fair share, and often more.
But let’s underscore the word fair. As described by the state’s lawyers in the suit, the feds’ actions have been anything but. The attorneys contended that federal officials failed to provide critical information about the shipment — the type of plutonium, how it would be packaged, a time frame for its arrival, how long it would remain in Nevada, and many other key bits of information that the state’s first responders and public officials needed to know.
To the state’s leaders, who’ve been lockstep in fighting to get the plutonium out of Nevada and prevent a similar undercover shipment from happening again, here’s a show of full support.
The good news on this front is that under pressure from Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Energy Secretary Rick Perry agreed to expedite the removal of the plutonium and made a commitment not to send more shipments to Nevada.
But in fighting the state’s lawsuit — and vilifying us in the process — the Department of Energy has shown that its every action must be watched closely.
And this isn’t the only front where Nevada is under siege on radioactive material, either. Efforts to resurrect the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository have heated up in Congress, where two bills are under consideration in the Senate and similar legislation is on its way to the House.
These measures must be stopped, as the project is a disaster waiting to happen.
It’s pure human arrogance to contend that the facility could safely house the nation’s 100,000 metric tons of highly radioactive waste for the hundreds of years it would remain hazardous, especially given the seismic activity in the area. Then there are the hazards associated with transporting the material on highways and rail lines not only through Nevada but across the nation, as an accident or a terrorist attack could produce catastrophic results.
Nevadans have spoken loudly and clearly that they don’t want this stuff being hauled through the heart of Las Vegas and stored just 90 miles north of the city, and with good reason. A problem at or around the site could have crippling effects on Southern Nevada and throughout Nevada, given the region’s role as the economic engine for the state.
(As an aside, if President Donald Trump thinks the waste and plutonium are so safe to store here, why not ship it to Mar-a-Lago?)
To their credit, Nevada’s congressional delegates and state leaders are diligently trying to keep other states and the feds at bay.
Now, in the face of a Republican-controlled Senate possibly tilting in favor of the project and a presidential administration that at best seems indifferent to Nevada’s wishes, the leadership needs all the allies it can get.
That being the case, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stands to have a key role in deciding Nevada’s fate by determining whether to allow the legislation to move forward. That could be good for the state. Given that Nevada voted heavily Democratic in 2018 and Pelosi is out to keep the House in Democrats’ hands, it would seem unlikely for her to get behind a project that is unpopular here.
But that’s no guarantee. So in a state where we’re being threatened with a massive waste dump and are being vilified by the feds for trying to protect our health and safety, it appears leaders need to settle in for an extended fight.
