Letter: DOE doesn’t keep promises

Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001 | 8:44 a.m.

I'm one of the "real people" referred to in Jon Ralston's column of Sept. 9, "Politics takes back seat for a spell."

Mr. Ralston's sympathy is touching but, Mr. Ralston, please forget the sympathy and work on your logic instead.

"Surrendering" to what you call the "inevitable" Department of Energy plans for Nevada is not a position of negotiating strength. Once an area has "sold out," and makes a deal for "mitigation benefits," the DOE never pays.

One perfect example is New Mexico's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant site. The DOE promised millions, got local politicians to sign on, and now won't pay for anything, not even road improvements. Worse, DOE reneged on health and safety promises. Is this what we want in Nevada?

We come from a position of knowledge, not one of tragic nobility. Mr. Ralston, spare me your sympathy and your opinions. Your time would be better spent investigating what happens to communities who "sell out" to the DOE.

JEAN TREICHEL

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