Public urged to attend Yucca hearing

Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2001 | 11:09 a.m.

Gov. Kenny Guinn said residents need more information to properly comment on the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain.

"There are several key pieces of scientific evidence that the public has not had the opportunity to consider, so public hearings at this point are premature," Gov. Kenny Guinn said, noting that scientific studies at the mountain 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas are incomplete.

Nevertheless, Guinn urged residents to attend a public hearing on the project scheduled tonight at 5 at the Department of Energy's Nevada Operations Office at 232 Energy Way, west of Losee Road, in North Las Vegas. The public comment period begins at 6 p.m.

Public testimony will begin after 6 p.m., and speakers will be limited to five minutes.

Hearings are also scheduled Sept. 12 in Amargosa Valley and Sept. 13 in Pahrump.

The governor plans to testify during tonight's hearing.

"I urge all Nevadans to participate and make your feelings known on this all-important issue," Guinn said.

He said tonight's hearing is the final opportunity for residents to tell the DOE that Nevada opposes the Yucca Mountain Project.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said the state is protesting the DOE hearings because they do not comply with a 1982 law that applies to proposed nuclear waste repositories.

"On behalf of the state of Nevada, I respectfully protest this hearing and demand that the DOE comply with the provisions of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act," Del Papa said in a prepared statement.

Nevada Solicitor General Tony Clark, who will represent the attorney general's office, also will testify tonight.

Clark, according to a press release, will testify that "without the benefit of final siting guidelines or a final environmental impact statement as a foundation for its tentative decision, the Department of Energy is, in effect, depriving the public of the opportunity to provide meaningful input into a decision that has potentially huge impacts for Nevadans and the nation as a whole."

Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said the Legislature this year sent a strong message to the DOE regarding its opposition to the prospect of burying 77,000 tons of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain.

"We believe all Nevadans who are concerned about the future safety and health of their families and loved ones should take this opportunity to yet again send that message loud and clear," Buckley said.

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, expected to recommend Yucca Mountain as the nation's nuclear waste repository later this year, has declined invitations from Nevada's officials to attend the hearing in North Las Vegas.

"I'm disappointed," Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said, referring to Abraham's decision not to attend.

Tonight's public hearing was originally scheduled to be held at the Suncoast, but hotel officials, citing security concerns, canceled the meeting after learning that more than 300 people would attend.

Clark County is offering free shuttle bus service for residents who want to attend. Buses will run between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m., taking residents from the County Government Center on Grand Central Parkway.

The DOE on Aug. 21 issued a 370-page Preliminary Site Suitability Evaluation on the Yucca project. The period set aside for the public to comment on the project ends Sept. 20.

Reid has asked President Bush to extend the comment period. Neither Bush nor the DOE has responded to the senator's request.