Casinos to launch Yucca blitz

Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2002 | 11:54 a.m.

The casino industry, criticized for standing on the sidelines in the fight against Yucca Mountain, pledged more than $600,000 toward the state's legal and lobbying campaign, officials said today.

With the battle over the nuclear waste dump -- which President Bush approved Friday -- moving toward a showdown in the courts and in Congress, Nevada Resort Association officials said they have created a private war chest in Nevada with $100,000 in seed money to help with the litigation.

And Washington-based American Gaming Association officials said they have set aside another $500,000 to intensify lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill.

The industry's new campaign, though in the making for months, comes after Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman blasted gaming executives last week for not being more involved in the Yucca Mountain fight.

"I'm delighted that they're participating," Goodman said.

The NRA has been on record opposing Yucca Mountain since 1991, but until recently has not contributed any money or political resources directly to the fight.

State leaders, who have raised $5.4 million mostly in public monies, praised today's move.

"This has been in the making for some time," Gov. Kenny Guinn said. "We're getting down to the wire, and we're going to need more money. Every one of (the casino executives) I've talked to has told me they're willing to step up to the plate."

Guinn said the industry's contributions will be an "immense help" in the fight. He said he hopes the NRA ultimately will contribute $500,000 to the cause. Stations Casinos last month gave $50,000 to the state fund.

The two gaming associations are leading the charge in the industrywide push to keep 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste out of Yucca Mountain, a volcanic ridge 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

NRA President Bill Bible said this morning that his organization, which represents the largest gaming companies in the state, expected its $100,000 anti-Yucca Mountain fund would grow significantly with additional contributions from individual casinos.

Bible said the money will be used in the state's overall campaign against Yucca Mountain.

"The fight now has moved to Congress and the courts, and it will require a different level of effort," Bible said.

AGA President Frank Fahrenkopf, the industry's chief Washington lobbyist, said his group passed a dues increase in December that will raise $500,000 to beef up lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill against Yucca Mountain.

Fahrenkopf said most of that increase will go toward helping Nevada's congressional delegation persuade Congress to sustain Guinn's anticipated veto of the president's decision.

It became more urgent for the industry to increase its participation because of the pending timelines in the Yucca Mountain decision-making process, Fahrenkopf said.

Under the law, Guinn has 60 days from the president's decision to consider a veto, which he has promised. Congress then will have 90 days to override the governor with a simple majority in both houses.

"It's going to be tough," Fahrenkopf said. "The overwhelming number of members of Congress are supportive of Yucca Mountain."

Nevada's best chance of sustaining the veto lies in the Senate, where Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the majority whip, has persuaded Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota to help him kill any Yucca Mountain measures, Fahrenkopf said.

Bible and top casino industry executives were to announce their stepped up role in the fight at a news conference this morning at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Guinn, who has been the leading the state effort, and Reid, who has been in charge of the fight in Washington, both planned to attend the news conference.

"It's going to be a big help to us," Reid said. "It's too bad that Bush double-crossed us."

Reid called Bush a "liar" Friday for breaking a Yucca Mountain promise to Nevadans during his 2000 campaign for president. Reid charged that Bush went against his pledge to base his nuclear waste decision on sound science.