B.C. Chamber quits U.S. group

Thursday, Dec. 13, 2001 | 10:39 a.m.

The Boulder City Chamber of Commerce has become the third Nevada chamber to withdraw from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce after the national organization decided to support the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.

The 10-member board voted on Tuesday to withdraw its annual $350 membership dues, Executive Director Beth Walker said.

The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, the third largest in the nation, withdrew its membership from the national organization on Nov. 19 after the U.S. Chamber announced a national campaign in support of the Yucca Mountain repository.

The Henderson Chamber of Commerce unanimously voted last week to withdraw from the national group.

The U.S. chamber announced its support before Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., released a draft General Accounting Office report that said the Department of Energy should delay a decision on turning the desert ridge 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas into a burial site for 77,000 tons of radioactive waste. The report noted that 293 technical issues about the site remained unanswered.

The Nevada chambers said that they withdrew after the national organization failed to consult with them. Las Vegas chamber officials said they were never contacted about the plan until an Oct. 23 e-mail arrived announcing the national support campaign for a repository.

Walker said she faxed and e-mailed a letter to the U.S. chamber, asking why the national group failed to seek input from Nevada. The U.S. chamber never replied.