O’Donnell says Nevada must stop hysteria over nuke dump

Thursday, May 10, 2001 | 11:17 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- State Sen. Bill O'Donnell says Nevadans must "stop this hysteria" surrounding the proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain.

O'Donnell, in a floor speech Wednesday, criticized the state's fight against all aspects of the Yucca study and pushed his resolution of keeping the transportation of any nuclear waste outside the Las Vegas area.

"I think it's a shame we have to bury our heads in the sand," O'Donnell, R-Las Vegas, said. "I hope we have a change of heart pretty soon before we get this thing rammed down our throats. "We can either be part of the solution or part of the problem," he said, adding the state must support its congressional delegation.

Critics have complained that the resolution sends a mixed message to the federal government that Nevada is not united in its efforts to stop the Yucca Mountain project.

O'Donnell also referred to remarks by Vice President Dick Cheney, who said Tuesday that there should be a permanent repository for the high-level nuclear waste piling up at reactors across the country.

Cheney did not identify where the government might place the repository, but Yucca Mountain is the only site being studied to contain 77,000 tons of commercial and defense radioactive waste.

O'Donnell said the state must make every effort to avoid the "real and terrible" threat that trucks hauling the waste would run through Las Vegas.

"It is not the intent of SJR4 to send a message to the federal government that Nevada is caving in on the repository issue.

"However, it is the intent of the resolution to plan ahead to protect the most populated region in Nevada if the repository is forced upon us," he said.