Abraham’s recommendation expected today

Benjamin Grove

Monday, Feb. 11, 2002 | 10:59 a.m.

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham was expected today to recommend Yucca Mountain as the nation's nuclear repository, setting the White House on course for a political collision with Nevada's leadership.

Abraham's recommendation -- which is widely expected to come today, but as of 10 a.m. PST had yet to be made -- will be made to President Bush. CNN reported this weekend that White House sources expected the president to approve the recommendation as soon as Wednesday.

Asked about when the president will make his decision, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer today said, "There will not be a decision today."

If Bush approves the plan, Gov. Kenny Guinn will have 60 days to veto it. Congress would then vote on the plan, and congressional sources say it appears both the House and Senate would have a majority in favor of storing waste at Yucca Mountain.

Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., joined Guinn in speaking to Bush last week on the issue.

Guinn would not comment on the Yucca Mountain proposal pending the president's decision, his press office said.

Bush has faced criticism from Nevada leaders on Yucca Mountain. During his presidential campaign, he matched then-Vice President Al Gore on the issues, saying "sound science" and not politics would decide the issue.

During their Oval Office meeting last week, Guinn, Ensign and Reid stressed not only the science -- and the number of studies that show questions remain about Yucca Mountain as the nation's nuclear waste dump -- but the politics of the situation.

State Republicans have warned that a decision for Yucca Mountain could become a campaign issue. Nevada has one more seat in the House this year, and Republican leaders fear two of the three seats could be won by Democrats.

Nevada's congressional delegation today was awaiting Abraham's recommendation. Last month Abraham said he would forward his recommendation to the president after a mandated 30-day waiting period. The 30 days were up this weekend.

"Obviously it's no surprise if it came today," Ensign spokeswoman Traci Scott said.

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., last week pleaded an anti-Yucca case to Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove, in a private meeting.

"We're hopeful that the president will take his time before signing the recommendation, if he decides to sign it, to carefully consider the science and our arguments that we have made during the last week," Gibbons spokeswoman Amy Spanbauer said.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said it would be "disrespectful" for Bush to immediately agree with Abraham's recommendation, Berkley spokesman Michael O'Donovan said.

"We hope that he'll give this some real thought and distance himself from the nuclear industry," O'Donovan said.

While most Nevada politicians have lined up against Yucca Mountain, the issue for many the nuclear waste out of their back yards. Yucca, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, would be the final resting place for high-level radioactive waste from 103 nuclear power plant reactors.

In a CNN.com poll Sunday, 59 percent of respondants said Bush should approve Yucca as the nuclear waste repository.

Of the 41,034 votes cast, 24,185 said yes and 16,849 answered no.