Official: New route needed to ship waste

Thursday, Feb. 22, 2001 | 11:21 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- If Nevada is chosen as a site for nuclear waste, the Energy Department should build a rail route around Las Vegas to Yucca Mountain, Sen. Bill O'Donnell, R-Las Vegas, says.

O'Donnell introduced a resolution Wednesday calling on Gov. Kenny Guinn to take action under federal regulations that allows him to designate alternative highway and train routes to "avoid the Southern Nevada metropolitan area."

"In order to get the railroad, we have to ask for it right away," O'Donnell said.

"It will cost billions of dollars, and it should be paid by the federal government," O'Donnell said, adding that rail shipments are the preferred alternatives to using trucks.

There are several routes that could be designated, he said. One calls for the train coming in from California to Ivanpah, then up to Pahrump and then to Yucca Mountain. The train would then continue north up to Carlin, all the way up through the middle part of the state.

"This will change the entire economic commerce of the state of Nevada. Not only will we be able to use the railroad for transportation of nuclear waste, but we could use the railroad for economic purposes, business purposes," he said.

Another possible route, he said, is from Apex around the north part of the valley through the range area of Nellis Air Force Base to Yucca Mountain.

He said he doesn't want the waste to be moved by truck through the "Spaghetti Bowl" and the urban area of Clark County.

"One thing we can't afford is that these trucks are going to move about 25 mph," O'Donnell said. "They are over 200 feet long. We can't afford on a two-lane highway trucks 200 feet long going 25 mph on a Friday or any kind of a holiday. It would bring the economy of our state to its knees."

He said the governor has to invoke a section of the federal law to get the ball rolling on designating these alternate routes.

Senate Joint Resolution 4 was referred to O'Donnell's Transportation Committee.