Exec enters Yucca battle

Friday, Jan. 5, 2001 | 10:44 a.m.

A local businessman is organizing an unprecedented grass-roots campaign to fight the nuclear industry's efforts to make Yucca Mountain the site of the nation's high-level waste repository.

Stephen Cloobeck, president and CEO of Diamond Resorts International, a company that runs several time-sharing condominium projects on the Strip, said Thursday he's looking to rally the entire community, including those in the influential casino industry.

"We've figured out tough problems before in this community, and we'll figure this out," Cloobeck said. "The strategy is to combat this politically by using all of our resources."

Cloobeck, a Democrat who considered running for the U.S. Senate last year, said he has arranged an organizational meeting at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Clark County Commission for anyone interested in joining the campaign. Polls show an overwhelming majority of Nevadans are against the dump and believe it poses a serious threat to their well-being.

The Cloobeck effort, which has never been tried in the 18-year battle against the dump, comes amid growing concerns about bias in favor of the Yucca Mountain Project, as the Energy Department gears up to decide whether to recommend the Nevada site.

Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is the only site under study to accept 77,000 tons of deadly radioactive waste from nuclear plants around the country.

A team of investigators from the DOE's inspector general are expected in Las Vegas next month to probe whether federal laws were broken during the agency's site selection process.

The DOE is prohibited from taking sides in the process, but documents obtained by the Sun last month showed the agency might have been collaborating behind the scenes with the nuclear industry to promote Yucca Mountain with Congress.

A decision on a recommendation has been put on hold until the investigation is completed.

Cloobeck acknowledged that he's "extremely naive" on the Yucca Mountain issue, but he said he hopes the campaign will be able to educate business executives such as himself and others in the community about the economic and health risks posed by the dump.

He said he has encouraged casino executives, elected officials, union leaders and members of the banking, utility and communications industries to attend Thursday's meeting.

"We've tried to touch every major company," he said. "It's going to take everyone's effort."

Among those Cloobeck has consulted are Bill Bible, president of the Nevada Resort Association, and Pat Shalmy, president of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, the two most politically active groups in the business community.

Studies show the business community and the tourism industry have a lot to lose if a nuclear waste accident were to occur along the Southern Nevada routes leading to Yucca Mountain.

But neither the resort association nor the chamber have taken an active interest in the fight over the years.

The resort association passed a resolution in September 1991, voicing its objections, and last February it submitted a copy of the resolution in the public comment section of the DOE's environmental impact statement on Yucca Mountain.

"I think the industry has made its position very well known on the issue," Bible said. "That position has been routinely communicated to people who want to know it."

But for the most part, the casino industry has been on the sidelines, as the battle has intensified in Washington.

The chamber never has gone on record opposing the repository. Some within the organization, believing the dump is inevitable, have sought to negotiate benefits from the government.

Shalmy could not be reached for comment today.

Cloobeck's campaign, meanwhile, is being hailed by Nevada officials, including Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn, who has tried in the past to persuade the private sector to become more involved in the Yucca Mountain fight.

"I'm very appreciative of anybody, especially someone like Steve, getting involved," Guinn said. "I think it's important for all of us to step up to the plate.

"If we're going to fight the battle on our own terms with the federal government, we have to get ourselves organized, and we have to have financial resources so we can decide on our own what issues we can fight."

A year ago Guinn helped create a nonprofit organization called CANWIN -- , Citizens Against Nuclear Waste in Nevada -- to heighten awareness of the state's fight and rally support around the country.

Former Secretary of State Cheryl Lau was named president, and Guinn's top political strategist, Sig Rogich, was put on the board. Bonnie Bryan, the wife of former Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., a longtime leader in the fight, was given the title of secretary.

The group, however, has had trouble raising money and maintaining a high profile.

Lau said Thursday she hopes that Cloobeck will stir up more interest for CANWIN's fund-raising efforts.

"We have to get our message out," she said.

Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, said Cloobeck's campaign will boost the overall Yucca Mountain fight.

"Providing new blood and energy can only help Nevada and its cause," Loux said. "There are times when we need to put on a show of force."

Loux said Cloobeck needs to coordinate his efforts with other anti-dump public interest groups, such as Citizen Alert and the Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force, to ensure that the state speaks with one voice.

Nevada's two House members, Republican Jim Gibbons and Democrat Shelley Berkley, also both support Cloobeck's efforts.

"All of our industries affected by the presence of nuclear waste in Nevada should be directly involved in our fight," Gibbons said. "We need all of the help we can get."

Berkley said the tourism industry can't afford the tarnish of a nuclear waste disaster in its backyard.

"Just one accident could wreak havoc with our economy," she said. "We're in the fight of our lives."