Bush says he’d veto Yucca as interim site

Friday, Sept. 29, 2000 | 11:21 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Texas Gov. George W. Bush says that if elected president he would veto any bill to send nuclear waste to an interim storage site in Nevada.

A copy of the Bush letter to Gov. Kenny Guinn dated Thursday was released today at a press conference in Las Vegas. It is the most definitive statement Bush has made on the nuclear waste issue.

The GOP candidate said "the Department of Energy has not completed its impact study of Yucca Mountain and important questions of environmental protection and safety have not yet been answered. Therefore, I would veto legislation that would provide for the temporary storage of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain."

His letter was released while Bush was campaigning in Michigan and talking about the use of more nuclear power.

Democrats reacted quickly to the Bush statement.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Nevadans should not be fooled by this letter.

Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico has promised an interim storage site within six months of a Republican administration, and "Gov. Bush hasn't answered the real question at hand: would he veto legislation to lower the health and safety standards at Yucca Mountain," Reid said.

Republicans in Congress are pushing the bill to reduce the standards, Reid said, adding that "My suspicion is that we will never get that answer from George W. Bush, because the answer is no."

Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., said he would welcome a "strong, unequivocal statement" from Bush that he would veto a bill for temporary nuclear waste storage in Nevada and an equally clear message on permanent burial at Yucca Mountain.

But the senator said he had not seen the letter.

"Let's look at the fine print," Bryan said. "Like Ross Perot reminded us, the devil is in the details."

Guinn had written Bush on Sept. 18 asking for a "written statement further clarifying your position on interim nuclear waste storage in Nevada." The governor, who is chairman of the Bush campaign in Nevada, said a written statement "would be helpful to me in communicating your stance on this topic."

Until now, Bush only has said he will make a decision on Yucca Mountain based on science not politics. And he previously has not said anything about possible interim storage at the Nevada Test Site.

Bush said, "As I've said before, I believe the best science must prevail in the designation that would send nuclear waste to any proposed site -- either on a permanent or temporary basis -- unless it has been deemed scientifically safe."

His statement mirrors that of Vice President Al Gore, who while visiting Las Vegas earlier this month said he opposed an interim storage site in Nevada.

The statement comes as the campaign is heating up for Nevada's four electoral votes.

Guinn, in his letter to Bush said, "The prospect of establishing an interim waste storage facility is a precursor to the creation of a permanent nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain."

Guinn said that proposal is "scientifically unsound and one that would create and unacceptable risk to the health and safety of the people of Nevada."

Bush concluded his letter saying, "I also believe the federal government must work with the local and state governments that will be affected to address safety and transportation issues."