Berkley seeks probe of Yucca law firm

Benjamin Grove

Friday, Oct. 12, 2001 | 10:22 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., today asked the Washington, D.C., bar association to investigate conflict-of-interest allegations against the Chicago law firm handling legal work on the Yucca Mountain project.

The Washington office of the firm, Winston & Strawn, is already the subject of an ongoing conflict-of-interest investigation by the Department of Energy's Inspector General, at the request of Nevada lawmakers.

Berkley in a letter dated today also requested that the District of Columbia Bar investigate "the legal and ethical implications" of the firm working for both the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Energy Institute, a leading advocate for the Yucca Mountain project.

Yucca Mountain is the proposed site of a national nuclear waste repository, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Nevada officials adamantly oppose the Department of Energy project, which has not yet been formally approved by the president or Congress. Nuclear energy officials strongly support it.

In 1999, the DOE hired Winston & Strawn to review a complex license application the DOE eventually would submit to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NRC would have to approve the application before the DOE could begin dumping the nation's high-level radioactive waste at Yucca.

In July, the Sun reported that Winston & Strawn also had worked for six years as a lobby firm for the Nuclear Energy Institute, NEI. NEI paid Winston & Strawn to lobby in favor of Yucca Mountain, the Sun reported.

A few days after the Sun sought response from Winston & Strawn in July, the firm severed its ties to NEI without explanation. Firm officials have repeatedly declined comment about the conflict-of-interest allegations.

Nevada officials argue that the DOE is required by law to be an independent manager of the controversial Yucca project. They object to the department hiring a pro-Yucca law firm to complete Yucca legal work, arguing that the firm ultimately could influence whether the NRC approves the project.

DOE Inspector General Gregory Friedman vowed an unbiased probe in August.

The District of Columbia Bar is "another avenue" to pursue, Berkley spokesman Michael O'Donovan said.

"I respectfully request that the District of Columbia Bar investigate the improprieties of the Winston & Strawn law firm with regard to its work for the DOE and NEI, and, if appropriate, take immediate corrective action against the law firm," Berkley said in her letter.

The DOE in 1999 by contract agreed to pay Winston & Strawn $16.5 million for 38,900-man-hours of legal work.