Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Support lacking in Yucca fight

A week after they were challenged to join in the fight against storing the nation's nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, many nongaming businesses in Southern Nevada say they aren't going to do so.

The Nevada Resort Association last week pledged $250,000 to the anti-Yucca fight and said it hoped to be joined by other industries that have profited from the booming, tourism-driven Southern Nevada economy that some say is threatened by the nuclear dump, proposed for a site 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

A Las Vegas Sun survey on Wednesday found few companies in industries such as health care, utilities, banking, construction and development eager to join the casino industry in the anti-Yucca fight.

"I don't feel there's going to be a groundswell within commercial real estate to fervently support the opposition to (Yucca Mountain)," said Tim Snow, president and chief executive of Thomas & Mack Development Group.

The local Associated General Contractors, a construction trade group representing 700 companies, said members are divided, so it won't take a stand.

"A lot of our members do not think it's the environmental threat that it's been held out to be. We've also got members who fully agree that it is (a threat)," executive Steve Holloway said.

"I think we will continue to let our members' own consciences guide them on what their stance is going to be on Yucca Mountain," said Holloway, who noted some members are working at Yucca Mountain.

Also not entering the battle is the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, a group of commercial developers with 467 local members.

Michael Newman, chairman of its government affairs committee, said many builders and developers are concerned, but may seem indifferent because they think it's a moot point.

"I wonder if people aren't giving (donations) because they believe it's a foregone conclusion," said Newman, who is also the managing partner of commercial brokerage firm Colliers International. "It doesn't necessarily mean they want (the dump)."

Big utilities serving the valley also aren't jumping into the Yucca debate. For example:

"We're a multistate organization and most of our business is in Arizona," spokesman Roger Buehrer said. "As a corporation, we face questions all the time on local issues and most times they are issues we avoid."

Several Las Vegas retailers and small businesses are also staying out of the fight.

Some businesses expressed concern about nuclear waste, but say they don't plan to fight the nuclear waste dump.

"Most food-concept stores like us, Wendy's or McDonald's traditionally stay away from political issues. Most of our franchisees feel the decision-making power isn't in the hands of voters, but in the elected officials' hands," said Jane Quebe, spokeswoman for Reno-based Port of Subs, which has 39 company and franchised shops and 800 employees in the state.

Quebe said franchisees are mostly concerned about potential leakage from nuclear waste storage operations and the resulting effect on business, population growth and sales, but they haven't yet mentioned any desire to leave.

Big Nevada banks and hospitals may be concerned about nuclear waste, but they also aren't entering the fight.

"There are so many public-policy issues out there that we could take public positions on, but we have to limit ourselves to those issues where we have some professional expertise," Wells Fargo Bank Nevada Chairwoman Laura Schulte said. "In the case of Yucca Mountain, we have to defer to the environmental and public-policy experts."

"There are so many health care issues that right now demand our immediate attention," Lynch said. Yucca "is a vital issue and it will impact us, but right now our opinion doesn't have any weight."

Bill Welch, president of the hospital association, said its 34 members have not adopted a position on Yucca. A vote could come as soon as the April board meeting, but medical issues outrank Yucca on its priority list.

"We're certainly concerned about anything that compromises the quality of life or causes health risks, but ... we have a multitude of crises before us that are of immediate priority. Medical malpractice, the emergency-room divert situation and a nursing shortage -- those issues are at the forefront of our agenda," he said.

But support for the Yucca fight was expressed by a community bank executive and Nevada's restaurant trade association.

Bob Ansara, owner of Ricardo's of Las Vegas and a director of the Nevada Restaurant Association and National Restaurant Association, said the two groups and the Nevada Hotel and Lodging Association are vigorously opposed to the dump.

"What I object to is the transportation of nuclear waste because you can't truck that stuff around without a screw-up happening somewhere down the line. It's going to take the concerted efforts of like minds and pocket books, time and talent to fight this," he said.

The Nevada Restaurant Association, which has 700 members statewide, said it plans to discuss Yucca at a meeting next month.

"We're proposing that the government should look at recycling nuclear waste like France, which has been doing so successfully for the past 15 years," Chairman John Kukulica said.

Silver State Bank Chairman Tod Little said he opposes Yucca because of its potential threat to Southern Nevada's tourism-dependent economy.

"I personally think it's a mistake to have that stuff traveling through here when our economy is extremely dependent on tourism," Little said. "There are plenty of places to put that stuff where if (an accident) happened, it wouldn't kill their local economy. ... If tourism goes away, this place won't survive."

Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, which has 6,800 members or 25 percent of the businesses in the area, adopted a resolution Jan. 31 opposing the storage of nuclear waste in Nevada and has contributed $3,000 to the state's Yucca fight so far.

The group severed its ties with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Nov. 20 after the national chamber supported a Yucca Mountain dump.

The state Commission on Nuclear Projects said it hasn't started soliciting support from small businesses, but is identifying key industries and targeting interest groups such as the Nevada Development Authority, Nevada Retail Association and the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association.

"We'll be approaching the construction industry, home builders and Realtors, which are among the industries directly impacted by this," commission spokesman Mark Brown said.

The 800-member home builders group is one of the few nongaming industries to take a strong stand against Yucca.

"We believe there are potential adverse effects to property values and tourism," Executive Director Irene Porter said.

Although the association opposes the dump, the group isn't capable of offering significant financial assistance to the fight, Porter said.

"We're a nonprofit, so we don't have a lot of money," she said. "More frequently, it's our individual companies that put money up for these issues."

Brown, chief executive of Brown & Partners, the advertising and public relations firm that the state and the Nuclear Projects Commission have retained to corral opposition to Yucca Mountain, said the gaming industry is the only major contributor to the anti-repository forces so far because "to date, they really have been the only ones who have been asked" to help financially.

What would help, he said, is better communication to the state's business leaders that the issue is still worth fighting and that efforts against Yucca Mountain won't be wasted.

"There's a misconception that this is inevitable," Brown said. "What needs to happen is additional communication to the people of Nevada that this is not a done deal."

Porter and Newman noted builders and developers have other issues specific to their industries to deal with.

"We have a tremendous problem with construction defect litigation and (homebuilders) insurance that is driving our members out of business," Porter said. "When they're being run out of business, they sure can't give money."

Newman added: "Tax reform, for example, concerns us all. We're concerned about tax policies that will hurt our ability to attract business from outside the state."

Snow agreed.

"My feeling is that the whole issue of revenue to the state right now and where the money comes from and what taxes are brought into play has a more immediate impact on our community," he said. "I think the prevailing feeling amongst commercial developers is that this isn't a life-or-death issue as far as the welfare and long-term growth of the community." Sun reporter

Malcolm Hall contributed to this story.

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