LVCVA adds voice to anti-dump forces

David Strow

Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2001 | 11:03 a.m.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has joined the battle against a proposed nuclear waste storage depot at Yucca Mountain.

After little debate and no opposition, the LVCVA's board voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a resolution "opposing the use of Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository." The LVCVA's move follows in the footsteps of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, which voted Jan. 31 to oppose the proposed dump.

Manny Cortez, president of the LVCVA, said the move was crucial to the LVCVA's mission of attracting tourists to the Las Vegas Valley.

"We probably should have done it earlier," Cortez said. "It's important that we as a convention authority make this statement.

"Tourism and travel is a very sensitive industry. If, God forbid, something happens as a result of that waste, it would create adverse publicity and hurt tourism."

The Yucca Mountain site, located 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is the only location being considered by the Department of Energy for the permanent storage of as much as 77,000 tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste from reactors across the country.

The LVCVA's motion came at the behest of Clark County Commissioner Mary Kincaid, chair of the LVCVA board.

"Everyone else has already made a stand," Kincaid said. "I think we should make a stand, too."

The LVCVA's resolution essentially seconds resolutions already passed by the Chamber of Commerce and the Nevada Resort Association, which represents big casino resorts. The chamber's resolution was approved in January; the NRA's was approved in 1991.

The chamber's resolution states that "one accident involving the transportation of nuclear waste, no matter how minor, could create fears and hysteria among the general public and cause fewer tourists to travel to Southern Nevada, even if scientists determine these fears are unfounded."

It also argues that "the mere threat of a nuclear waste accident could have a significant adverse impact on the property values of Las Vegas residents."

The NRA's resolution takes a similar tack, saying that "news stories about the repository and associated transportation of radioactive materials to it could cause special damage to the reputation enjoyed by Las Vegas and the success of its tourism promotion efforts."

"The establishment of a high-level nuclear waste repository in Nevada is inconsistent with the positive image the state seeks to present to the world," the NRA resolution states.