Nevada pulls Yucca audit off Internet

Benjamin Grove

Monday, Dec. 10, 2001 | 9:46 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Nevada officials briefly posted the unofficial draft copy of a General Accounting Office audit of the Yucca Mountain project last week, then pulled it off their website at the GAO's request.

The draft report is critical of the Department of Energy's cost and schedule estimates for the Yucca project, an intense study of the mountain to determine if it is a suitable site to bury the nation's nuclear waste. The GAO report recommends that the DOE put off a recommendation about the site to President Bush, although Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham plans to make his recommendation as planned in the coming weeks.

Nevada lawmakers leaked excerpts and a summary of the 28-page draft report to the media after they got a copy from the GAO Nov. 28.

The Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, a state watchdog of the DOE's Yucca project, received the report by fax, although director Bob Loux said today he wasn't certain who had initially sent it to the office.

Loux's office posted it on the nuclear projects agency website (www.state.nv.us/nucwaste) Wednesday, Loux said.

"Copies are everywhere," Loux said. "It seemed like it was a public document."

But draft copies of GAO reports are only intended to be seen by lawmakers who request them as well as officials at the agencies that are subjects of the report, GAO officials said. The lawmakers and agencies are encouraged to suggest revisions to the GAO for the final report -- not make the drafts public, GAO officials said.

On the front page of the draft report is a warning: "Recipients of this draft must not, under any circumstances, show or release its contents for purposes other than official review and comment. It must be safeguarded to prevent publication or other improper disclosure of the information it contains. This draft and all copies of it remain the property of, and must be returned on demand to, the General Accounting Office."

GAO officials on Friday asked officials in Gov. Kenny Guinn's office to take the report off the website. So the governor's office asked Loux to take the report down, which he did. "I'm still not sure why," Loux said.

The final, official GAO report on Yucca Mountain is scheduled for release to the public later this week or next week, GAO spokeswoman Laura Kopelson said today. The GAO does not plan to pursue any action against Loux's office or Nevada lawmakers, Kopelson said.