Guinn vetoes Yucca dump

Erin Neff

Monday, April 8, 2002 | 11:17 a.m.

Beneath the state's Battle Born flag, Gov. Kenny Guinn vetoed the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump this morning, declaring that the dump "is not inevitable" and saying he would press the fight to "expose the Department of Energy's dirty little secrets about Yucca Mountain."

Becoming the first governor to veto a president, Guinn took a hard line against negotiating over Yucca Mountain and said the health, safety and welfare of Nevada's citizens are at risk if the government goes ahead with plans to ship 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste to the site 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

"Let me make one thing crystal clear: Yucca Mountain is not inevitable and Yucca Mountain is no bargaining chip and, so long as I am governor, it will never become one," Guinn said during a rally at University of Nevada, Las Vegas' Tam Alumni Center to about 300 people.

In Washington this morning, Robert Dove, a state consultant, delivered Guinn's 10-page "notice of disapproval" -- a veto of the President Bush's recommendation on Yucca Mountain -- to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Senate President Pro Tempore Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.

The notice lays out the state's case against the dump in response to Bush's recommendation to designate Yucca Mountain as the nation's nuclear waste repository two months ago. Under federal law, Guinn had a chance to veto the action.

The veto now goes to Congress, which will vote on the matter within the next three months. Congress could see resolutions in both the House and Senate as soon as Tuesday.

Guinn left this morning for Washington, where he will go on the assault Tuesday with orchestrated media events and meetings with the congressional leaders who hold the state's fate in their hands.

During his speech, Guinn emphasized that Nevada will not bargain over Yucca Mountain, referring to some state leaders who have quietly talked about negotiating with the federal government over what the state will get if it takes the dump.

He specifically addressed former Bush White House Chief of Staff John Sununu and former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro, who are lobbying for the nuclear industry.

"Mr. Sununu and the other high-paid lobbyists of the nuclear industry, hear Nevada loud and clear: The health, safety and well-being of present and future generations of Nevadans are not for sale at any price," he said. "Nevada's state slogan is 'Battle Born.' We came into this union fighting for our preservation, and we will continue to show the country we are united in our fight against Yucca Mountain."

Many state political leaders, including a bulk of the Legislature, attended the rally along with several students from Kenny C. Guinn Middle School who wore T-shirts that read, "Protect Nevada's Future."

"This veto belongs to each and every one of you who have battled against a project that would be detrimental to the public health and safety of our citizens," Guinn said to rousing applause.

The 20-minute event featured patriotically dressed students and fourth and fifth graders from Gilbert Elementary School, a magnet school, who sang "Say Yucky to Yucca Mountain."

Guinn's speech was interrupted five times by applause, including a standing ovation when he said he was going to veto the president.

The crowd included several of the state's top Republicans, including Ensign; Sig Rogich, an adviser to former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush; Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt; and Secretary of State Dean Heller, as well as leading Democrats Rep. Shelley Berkley, Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins and casino executive Mike Sloan.

"We need to stand united and having the governor as a Republican going to veto a Republican president speaks volumes," Berkley said.

Speaking of the state's firm stance against bargaining, Perkins said, "I think the governor speaks for the state, and if there are other people talking (and) if a contrary message is getting to Washington, it absolutely hurts our cause. But I think that the governor's message was very clear."

Guinn goes to Washington armed with a resolution by the Legislative Commission unanimously passed Friday urging Guinn to veto the Yucca Mountain site.

Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said Congress has got to understand that the Legislature and not only Guinn opposes the nuclear dump in Nevada.

"We need to send the strongest message possible," Titus said.

About a half hour after the rally ended, Dove, the former Senate parliamentarian who is now working for the state, delivered Guinn's veto.

"Under the law, I'm ending Yucca Mountain as a waste site," Dove said to reporters.

The veto, written by Washington-area attorney Joe Egan for the state, calls Yucca Mountain "the latest in a long series of Energy Department boondoggles -- one based on bad science, bad law and bad public policy."

"We will not permit Yucca Mountain to happen, and it will not happen, because the project is manifestly not a worthy cause," the veto reads.

The veto cites concerns about national security and recommends the DOE look at alternatives to reduce the toxicity of the radioactive fuel.

The state cites three main points in his 10-page veto: inadequate science, legal challenges and national security.

"The bottom line is this: Even if Yucca Mountain proceeds, spent fuel will continue to be stored above ground at reactor sites across America for many decades, perhaps centuries, to come," the veto says. "Secretary Abraham's 'one safe site' is a figment of DOE's imagination. The Yucca Mountain site is neither 'safe' nor will it ever be 'one.' "

Guinn argues that the DOE is no longer referring to Yucca Mountain as a geologic site and is instead discussing engineered features of the site that would protect the environment from nuclear waste. The geological features of the site have been used as an argument for Yucca Mountain.

"The former director of the Yucca Mountain project, Dr. John Bartlett, recently testified the project has become nothing more than a series of fancy engineered waste packages that just happens to be located 1,000 feet under ground. The Nuclear Energy Institute recently bragged that the repository can be licensed 'without the mountain.'

"Nevada strongly opposes the designation of Yucca Mountain for nuclear waste disposal because the project is scientifically flawed, fails to conform to numerous laws, and the policy behind it is ever changing and nonsensical," Guinn says in the introduction to his veto.

Guinn said he considered this morning's speech the most important of his administration, not just because it precedes his historic veto, but also because it is about the future of the state he dearly loves.

Guinn has turned to the city and Clark County for money after the state Board of Examiners on Friday recommended $3 million from emergency funds be used to launch a nationwide advertising blitz against Yucca Mountain. Nevada's congressional delegation has asked the state for $10 million for the campaign.

The Legislative Interim Finance Committee will consider the request Wednesday in Carson City.

Guinn said the state could not afford more, because it faces a $100 million shortfall in its budget this year and $110 million next year. The governor said he hoped Clark County and the city of Las Vegas would come up with another $4 million to $5 million.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman has asked the city manager to poll his fellow council members to determine whether political support exists to add more money to the state's legal defense and lobbying fund, and the Clark County Commission is studying allocating $3 million.

People attending this morning's rally were given cards asking them to donate $1 or more to the fund, by calling (800) 366-0990 or on the website, state.nv.us/nucwaste/.

Sun reporters Benjamin Grove and Cy Ryan contributed to this story.