State awards contract in grass-roots Yucca fight

Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2001 | 8:58 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A $1 million contract has been awarded to a Las Vegas public relations firm to conduct a grass-roots effort to pressure U.S. senators in other states to vote against locating a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain.

The state Board of Examiners approved the two-year contract for Brown & Partners to design and carry out a national public information program to inform residents of other states regarding the dangers of transporting nuclear waste through their communities and cities.

This effort is aimed in part at offsetting an initiative by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that has hired former White House Chief of Staff John Sununu and former New York congresswoman and vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro to push for selection of Yucca Mountain. Sununu is a Republican and Ferraro is a Democrat.

Mark Brown, chief executive officer of Brown & Partners, said it will look at some of the key transportation states and match them with senators who are "undecided or flexible" on this issue.

There will be a combination of a media and a grass-roots campaign in those states, Brown said. Attempts will be made to talk with influential people -- such as leaders in the chambers of commerce, banks and other industries -- to alert them to the potential dangers of truck or rail shipments through their areas.

The state Office for Nuclear Projects says there may be 143,000 shipments hauling 77,000 tons of nuclear waste through hundreds of major cities and thousands of communities across the nation en route to Yucca Mountain.

"We believe most of them are not aware of the number of hazardous waste shipments, both by truck and by rail, that will be coming through their communities," Brown said.

The goal is to get people in these states to call their senators and urge them not to support Yucca Mountain.

The campaign is aimed at swaying votes in the Senate.

Brown, a former vice president for Station Casinos, conducted an anonymous campaign to defeat incumbent Clark County Commissioner Lance Malone. Brown is fighting in the courts an attempt by the secretary of state's office to fine him $5,000 for allegedly violating election law.

Rose McKinney James is president of Brown & Partners and a recognized expert in alternative energy. McKinney, a Democrat, lost to Republican Lorraine Hunt for lieutenant governor in 1998.

Brian McKay, chairman of the state Commission on Nuclear Projects, said the Brown firm was selected from a field of three applicants, including the Creative Group and F/F/E Associates, both of Las Vegas.

Gov. Kenny Guinn, chairman of the Board of Examiners, said, "Our mission during the course of this national outreach effort is to educate Americans on the harsh realities of transporting nuclear waste and give them the opportunity to challenge transportation of this dangerous material to protect future generations."

The 2001 Legislature, at Guinn's request, set aside $4 million to help conduct a national fight against selection of the site, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, as the nation's nuclear waste repository. The $1 million contract will be paid from that fund.