Nevadans urged to call Bush

Thursday, Jan. 17, 2002 | 9:38 a.m.

Nevada residents should inundate President Bush with letters urging him to reject his Energy Secretary's recommendation that Yucca Mountain is a suitable site to bury the nation's nuclear waste, Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said Wednesday.

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham has notified Gov. Kenny Guinn that he intends to recommend the site, probably next month. Bush is expected this year to approve the recommendation.

"If Nevadans can flood the White House with letters and phone calls, and if our congressional delegation keeps holding the administration's feet to the fire, we may be able to convince the President that we are not going to go quietly, and that he should invest in a long-term solution to the problem," Berkley said. Berkley is urging state residents to send Bush letters, or simply sign their name to hers. The letter is on her website (www.house.gov/berkley).

Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, is urging other state legislatures to adopt resolutions opposing the designation of Yucca Mountain as a nuclear burial ground.

Perkins said said Wednesday he has sent letters speakers in the other states informing them there would be shipments of the radioactive materials through 43 states for more than 20 years.

Perkins told the other speakers, "This is Nevada's problem today; federal steamrolling over the rights of your constituents, threatening their health, safety or economic well-being could be next."