Not all Nevadans oppose Yucca Mountain

In response to the May 8 editorial, “Yucca lives?”

The thrust of your editorial is correct. The nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain is required by federal law and is not dead.

But you portray the lawsuits against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as being brought by states – including Washington and South Carolina – that seek to get rid of nuclear waste. You fail to mention that Nye County – the location of Yucca Mountain – is an active party in the lawsuit siding with the states you mention and others. The false implication is that all Nevadans are against the Yucca Mountain repository.

In fact, Nye County, along with five other rural Nevada counties, has passed resolutions that call for members of the NRC technical staff to finish their independent safety evaluation of Yucca Mountain and the Yucca Mountain licensing process, so that decisions on proceeding with the repository can be based on sound science versus political rhetoric.

Additionally, a recent Reno Gazette-Journal poll asked, “Should Nevada stick to its opposition to using Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste facility?” Eighty percent of respondents said Nevada should reconsider its opposition. Nevada officials and our state-level political leadership have thwarted every attempt to have a fair technical evaluation of Yucca Mountain. Instead, the NRC chairman, former Harry Reid staffer Gregory Jaczko, acted unilaterally to halt the agency’s safety evaluation even though it was essentially complete.

If Yucca is found to be safe through an open and transparent licensing process, Nye County is in favor of completing the project. We believe that huge benefits could accrue to Nevada and its local governments.

According to the recent Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future established by this administration, substantial benefits should be provided to the state and local governments that host this nation’s nuclear waste repository. Nye County believes such benefits could easily include hundreds of millions of dollars per year for nearly 100 years as well as thousands of high-paying construction and technical jobs for decades.

Instead of trying to frighten Nevadans into being against Yucca Mountain, state officials should embrace sound science and the substantial benefits that could be obtained if we would be open to negotiating for benefits. Once safety is determined independently, Nevada should reap benefits of accepting the waste burden.

GARY HOLLIS

PAHRUMP

The writer is a member of the Nye County Commission.