North Las Vegas to assist county firm on nuke report

Diana Sahagun

Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2000 | 11:05 a.m.

Anticipating a rash of studies in the coming year, North Las Vegas is planning to put its stamp on the research assessing the risk of hauling high-level nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain.

The City Council is expected tonight to approve an agreement that has the city working with the county's contractor -- Urban Environmental Research -- on a report to determine how nuclear shipments would affect government services and public safety.

Las Vegas, Boulder City and Henderson have already signed similar agreements, Dennis Bechtel, planning manager for the Clark County Nuclear Waste Division, said.

Clark County has been working with Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Boulder City, Henderson and other governments since 1989 to determine potential impacts of shipping nuclear waste through the Las Vegas Valley. Yucca Mountain, 90 miles of Las Vegas, is the only site being considered for the nation's high-level nuclear waste repository.

"Clearly, in Nevada there's an issue with nuclear waste ... and local entities are concerned about the routes these products would take, and how it impacts our cities," Jim Bell, North Las Vegas director of public works, said.

Over the next year the county will draft a report to submit to the state in June, assessing the socioeconomic impacts of nuclear waste transport. The contractor will work with all government agencies to draft separate studies to include in the report.

North Las Vegas has already contributed to the state-funded research on the proposed repository, analyzing the risks of waste transport along the northern leg of the Las Vegas Beltway. The county plans to draft similar studies on other parts of the beltway.

Under the North Las Vegas contract, the city also agrees to continue participating in meetings of the Clark County Nuclear Waste Steering Committee, as well as meetings conducted by the state.

The city may also conduct a public awareness program on the Yucca Mountain project.

"Our desire is that they don't ship waste through through Las Vegas, but if we have no control over that -- and I think we do -- we can make sure the community is protected," Bechtel said.