Governor stays out of Yucca hearings

Friday, Nov. 12, 1999 | 11:07 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn said today he strongly opposes a nuclear dump in Nevada, but he won't intervene in the hearings on the application of the U.S. Department of Energy for water rights for the project.

It would be improper, he said, to involve himself in the hearings now being conducted by Nevada State Engineer Mike Turnipseed.

"We don't want to start talking publicly before he (Turnipseed) handles it, to try to influence him," Guinn said. "That's not my role."

The governor said Turnipseed would make a ruling, and then the administration would decide its next move.

Guinn's comments came when he was asked whether he should intervene in these hearings to oppose the federal government's request for the water to build and operate the dump. He said he does not want to interfere with the process.

"You don't involve yourself in a process where somebody else is to take all the data and make a ruling," Guinn said. "He (Turnipseed) has a great deal of experience in the water area. He will give me a report and then we will see if there is anything the governor's office should step forward on."

Guinn and the past two governors, Bob Miller and now U.S. Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., have all been staunch opponents of the nuclear dump.

Turnipseed started hearings Monday in Las Vegas, and they will move to Carson City next Monday. The energy department wants 430 acre feet of ground water annually to supply crews during construction and operation of the repository 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

The federal agency is using ground water now on a temporary permit that expires in 2002. The DOE said if Turnipseed denies the application, work at the location will continue, but it will be more difficult.

In March Guinn submitted testimony to a Senate committee in which he said studies show that Yucca Mountain should be disqualified as a site, "due to rapid groundwater flow that would carry released radionuclides through Yucca Mountain and to the accessible environment."

While Guinn will not personally involve himself, Bob Loux, director of the state's Nuclear Project Office, is fighting the water application. And Loux reports directly to the governor.

Loux testified at the hearing, "It would seem granting the permit is one step closer to building a repository."

Yucca Mountain is the only site the U.S. Department of Energy is studying for storage of the nation's nuclear waste.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., said this week the bill to allow higher levels of radiation at Yucca Mountain will be held over until next year.

Bryan and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., had threatened a filibuster that could last a week or more over the bill.