Senate races may decide fate of Yucca dumpsite

Benjamin Grove

Saturday, Oct. 28, 2000 | 3:56 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Election Day is fast approaching and Nevada officials are eagerly eyeing 10 or so of the nation's closest Senate races -- expensive, high-stakes battles that ultimately could shape nuclear waste legislation next year.

Tight races in far-flung places such as Michigan, New York, Rhode Island and Delaware are under close scrutiny by anyone with a stake in legislative battles to come.

For Nevada lawmakers, next year's divisive debates on nuclear waste legislation loom. In the 100-member Senate, where Republicans cling to a 55-45 majority, the November election could determine when -- possibly even if -- nuclear waste is shipped to Nevada in the next few years.

"By and large, we should hold our own and possibly even pick up some votes," said Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev.

The Department of Energy is plodding ahead with a 13-year-old federal plan to bury high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The department plans to begin shipping 77,000 tons of the nation's waste there beginning in 2010.

Congress is still in the process of crafting legislation that shapes exactly how and when waste would be shipped to Nevada, if studies prove that the mountain is a safe place to entomb the highly radioactive material.

This year Congress approved a bill to move up the timeline to 2007, but President Clinton vetoed it and the legislation died. The president will play the key role again next year, many say.

"If (George W.) Bush is elected, the arithmetic changes," Bryan said.

But little has been said about how the newly elected Senate will treat Nevada on the nuclear waste issue. This year Clinton's veto was upheld in the Senate by a single vote. Will Nevada's senators again be able to muster 34 votes to sustain a presidential veto, if it came to that?

"I think we'll be in better shape," said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who as Senate minority yhip lines up Democrats to vote with the party. "We'll pick up a few votes; it's just a question of how many."

When the final election results are in, it seems likely Nevada will win a few and lose a few votes on the nuclear waste issue.

Predictably, Bryan and Reid are pulling for Democrats, who tend to vote with Nevada on the issue.

"Our chances of persuading a Democrat to vote with us are far greater than persuading a Republican," Bryan said.

For now the nuclear energy industry's lobby group is not officially backing Senate candidates with formal endorsements, but the Nuclear Energy Institute, or NEI, does give candidates money. NEI spokesman Steve Kerekes declined to speculate on whether the industry will have more Senate friends or foes after the election.

Here is a glance at how Nevada might fare on a nuclear waste vote in some of the tightest races:

Potential good news

New York -- Hillary Rodham Clinton holds a slight lead over Rep. Rick Lazio, R-N.Y. -- a good sign, say Nevada observers. Lazio in the House has voted against Nevada in nuclear waste votes. The NEI gave him $1,000. Clinton has no voting record, but this year she responded to a survey from the consumer and environmental group Public Citizen indicating she would have voted against this year's nuclear waste bill. "Hopefully she would follow the lead of the president on this issue," said Anna Aurilio, of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, which opposes the Yucca Mountain plan.

Minnesota -- Sen. Rod Grams, R-Minn., trails Democratic opponent department store heir Mark Dayton. Grams votes against Nevada, and the NEI has given him $2,000. It's not clear where Dayton would vote. Minnesota has a nuclear power plant that is choking on high-level waste and could be forced to close if it can't dump the material at Yucca Mountain. Even so, Minnesota's other senator, liberal Democrat Paul Wellstone, votes with Nevada.

New Jersey -- Former Goldman Sachs investment bank chairman and Democrat Jon Corzine leads late-charging Republican Bob Franks. The two vie for the seat of retiring Democrat Frank Lautenberg, who voted with Nevada. Corzine pledged to Public Citizen he would have voted against this year's nuclear waste bill. The NEI backed Franks with $1,000.

Florida -- Democratic state insurance Commissioner Bill Nelson, who also said he would have voted with Nevada, is leading Rep. Bill McCollum, R-Fla., who votes against the state. Florida is heavily reliant on nuclear power with five nuclear reactors.

Potential bad news

Missouri -- Democrats were eager for Gov. Mel Carnahan to take over the seat of Sen. John Ashcroft, R-Mo., but the governor died in a plane crash Oct. 16. The tragedy left Missouri mourning and Democrats without their candidate in a formerly tight race. Carnahan had been a vocal opponent of shipping nuclear waste cross-country through his state. Ashcroft votes against Nevada; the NEI gave him $1,000.

Virginia -- Sen. Chuck Robb, D-Va., is trailing in a race with Republican opponent George Allen. Robb got $1,000 from NEI and has voted against Nevada; so would Allen, Nevada officials say.

Montana -- Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., who votes against Nevada and got $1,000 from NEI, is clinging to his seat. Democratic challenger Brian Schweitzer, a rancher who told Public Citizen he would have voted with Nevada this year, trails but has been closing the gap. Montana has no nuclear power.

Neck and neck

Washington -- Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., consistently votes against Nevada and got $1,000 from NEI. He is in a tight race with software millionaire and former Rep. Maria Cantwell. Cantwell did not respond to the Public Citizen survey question on nuclear waste. "No answer -- but no commitment," said Public Citizen's Lisa Gue. "We can't do any worse (than Gorton)," one Nevada staffer said.

Michigan -- Sen. Spencer Abraham, R-Mich., is about even in a battle for his seat with opponent Rep. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. Abraham took $4,000 from NEI and votes against Nevada. Stabenow voted to establish a temporary nuclear waste dump in Nevada in 1997, but voted against this year's nuclear waste bill. "I hope that signifies a change of heart," Aurilio said.

Delaware -- Popular Sen. William Roth, R-Del., appears to be edging popular Democratic Gov. Tom Carper, but the race is still close. Roth has voted against Nevada and got $1,000 from NEI; Carper's stance is unclear.