Letter: Senator is out of touch on nuke waste

Monday, July 2, 2001 | 9:20 a.m.

I attended Clark County's Nuclear Waste Division public meeting on Wednesday.

State Sen. Bill O'Donnell, R-Las Vegas, spoke and took the position that Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste dump is a done deal. Forget about opposing it. He noted that Nevada's congressional delegation only has four votes and that's not enough to prevent man's most deadly garbage from coming to our state. The senator would rather have the state negotiate, or go hat in hand and ask the Department of Energy for payments in exchange for Yucca Mountain that Nevada could use for needed schools, electrical-power generation or other items.

The senator's positions are very troubling. He's clearly out of step with the people of Nevada who say no to nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. Perhaps he lacks the desire to battle against the dump. Perhaps he hasn't heard about building coalitions. Perhaps he knows something the rest of us are missing. Perhaps he wants to be seen as a loyal Republican soldier supporting his president.

Senator, I say no nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain or in Nevada.

ANDY HERESZ

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