NV congressional delegation decries Yucca application filing

LAS VEGAS-Following the Department of Energy's filing of a license application this morning for the spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada's congressional delegation released a joint press release condemning the project and vowing to continue fighting against it.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the head of the delegation, said that the license application was "supposed to be filed years ago" and is "shoddy at best."

"The application, which includes designs that are only 35% complete, lacks critical information that cannot simply be overlooked," said Reid.  "For example, just how would the Energy Department respond in the event of an emergency?  We can't answer that question because the Department doesn't even know. "

Reid urged Nevadans to sign a petition against the site.  You can do so here.

Despite the congressional protests, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman hosted a press conference today detailing the project and urging acceptance by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

"We are confident that the NRC's rigorous review process will validate that the Yucca Mountain repository will provide for the safe disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in a way that protects human health and our environment," Bodman said.

"On a personal level, let me say that I know some Americans have deeply felt concerns about the Yucca Mountain facility.  And I do not seek to dismiss those concerns nor minimize them on the contrary; issues of health, safety and security have been paramount during this entire process. They are the driving factors in all decisions we have made and that will continue going forward, as will our commitment to ensuring that this continues to be an open and transparent process."

Ward Sproat, director of DOE's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, predicted Yucca Mountain could open as early as 2020, assuming the application was accepted and funding remained steady.

Watch the full press conference here.

"This latest attempt by the DOE is merely a last-ditch effort to breathe life into bad policy that is wrong for America," said U.S. Sen. John Ensign. "Yucca Mountain is dead, and it is time to move forward in a new direction with on-site waste storage."

U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Las Vegas), Nevada's senior representative, sought to tie Yucca Mountain not just to the unpopular Bush administration but to presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) as well.

"Nevadans know a bad bet when we see one and that is why we vehemently oppose the Bush-McCain Yucca Mountain plan and its decades of toxic radioactive waste shipments," said Berkley.  "Nevada is not alone in this fight and the lives of more than 50 million Americans will be at risk from trucks and trains hauling this nuclear garbage to the Silver State.

McCain reaffirmed his support for the Yucca Mountain repository in a campaign stop in Reno last week.

"The Department of Energy's filing of the license application today shows total disregard for the heath and safety of Nevadans," said U.S. Rep. Jon Porter (R-Boulder City). "Let's stop throwing good money after bad and give the Nuclear Waste Fund ratepayers a better solution and the Americans more of a say in domestic nuclear policy."

"The Yucca Mountain project has been plagued by poor management and faulty science from day one," said U.S. Rep. Dean Heller (R-Reno). Licensing this project would be a threat to the health and safety of every community nuclear waste would be shipped through.  I will continue to fight along side the Nevada delegation to stop nuclear waste from being stored at Yucca Mountain."