DOE chief to visit proposed site of anti-terrorism school

Benjamin Grove

Monday, Dec. 10, 2001 | 9:31 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham plans to visit the Nevada Test Site on Jan. 7 with Nevada lawmakers who continue to push for a national counterterrorism school at the site.

Nevada lawmakers have long argued that the Test Site's remote and secure 1,375-square-mile expanse makes it perfect for a permanent anti-terrorism training ground. The Sept. 11 attacks gave the proposal momentum, they said.

Nevada officials are planning to give Abraham an up-close tour of the site's features, including tunnels, barracks and other facilities, although a trip itinerary has not been finalized, Nathan Naylor, a spokesman for Sen. Harry Reid, said today.

The site is already home to counterterrorism weapons-of-mass-destruction training, and Nevada officials hope to view a live demonstration.

The Test Site was home to nuclear weapons tests until a ban in 1992. Nevada lawmakers plan to stress the point to Abraham that the site could easily and quickly be converted into an established, year-round academy offering courses for emergency responders as well as military from around the nation.

Abraham has not committed support for the plan, but is intrigued, DOE officials have said. Lawmakers from several other areas of the nation are lobbying to increase terrorism training centers in their districts.

Sens. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Reid, D-Nev., pitched the plan to Abraham in person during a meeting Nov. 15. Nevada lawmakers also have invited Tom Ridge, director of the Office of Homeland Security, to visit the site with Abraham if his schedule permits.

Nevada lawmakers likely would need the support of Abraham, Ridge, President Bush, and Congress before a national academy could be established at the site, Naylor said.

Abraham's visit will fall at a time when Nevada lawmakers have bolstered their fight against Abraham's department on another matter: the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. Abraham two weeks ago criticized the Nevada delegation for giving the media excerpts of an unofficial draft General Accounting Office report that questioned the DOE's timeline and cost estimates for the Yucca project.

But the lawmakers and Abraham are keeping the two issues separate, Naylor said.