Reid quizzes Gore on where he stands on nuclear waste issue

Benjamin Grove

Tuesday, Sept. 14, 1999 | 11:33 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., met privately this morning with Al Gore to discuss the vice president's stance on nuclear waste and his candidacy for president.

Following the meeting Reid would not say where Gore stands on the nuclear waste issue, saying only that Gore may make his position clear when he visits Las Vegas on Oct. 11.

"You'll find out when he comes to the state," Reid said today.

Senators this month are likely to debate the issue of bringing nuclear waste to Nevada.

Among the issues to be debated: whether the Environmental Protection Agency or the Nuclear Regulatory Commission should set radiation standards for inside Yucca Mountain. Yucca is the proposed site 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas as the permanent repository for the nation's nuclear waste.

Reid wants the EPA, not the NRC, to set the standards because the EPA likely would set stricter standards. A Republican proposal suggests that the NRC should set the standards.

"That's going to be the battle," Reid said.

All four members of the Nevada delegation hope that President Clinton will veto the bill, no matter what form it takes, when it eventually reaches the White House.

Clinton has not said if he would veto the current version of the bill. Gore also has not said what he would do with the bill if he were president. Gore and Reid also discussed making Nevada a target state in Gore's campaign. That means Gore could invest time, staff and "resources" in the state.

"Gore has always done well in Nevada," Reid said. "Clinton carried the state twice."