Yucca ad campaign takes hit

Wednesday, June 19, 2002 | 11:29 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Nevada's fight against Yucca Mountain took an unexpected hit Tuesday when a state legislative committee was told it could release only $434,000 to the campaign against the proposed nuclear repository.

The state has raised $1.9 million in public and private donations that officials thought would be matched through a $3 million fund set up by the Legislature's Interim Finance Committee.

But the committee was told by its attorney that it couldn't match the bulk of that money -- a $1.5 million donation from Clark County -- because that money was designated to pay for legal fees. The matching fund was designated to pay for a public relations and advertising campaign. "It sounds like the $1.5 million can't be used for the matching fund," said Senate Majority Leader and committee chairman Bill Raggio, R-Reno, ending the discussion. Raggio had asked if it was legal to match the Clark County donation and said he was surprised by the opinion.

Brenda Erdoes, legal counsel to the Legislature, said the $1.5 million could only be used as a matching fund if the finance committee changed its resolution that created the fund to allow Clark County's donation to qualify.

The committee couldn't address that at Tuesday's meeting because the item wasn't on the agenda. The next meeting of the committee isn't until September, well after Yucca Mountain will be decided by the U.S. Senate. Raggio can call a meeting at any time, but no one asked him to do so a Tuesday's meeting. It was immediately unclear if the committee will act before it next meeting. The ruling means only $434,000 can be released to help the state promote its fight against the nuclear repository. The issue is expected to be voted on by the U.S. Senate in the next few weeks and opponents have tried to mount an advertising campaign to derail the proposal. The Senate's vote is the last step in the federal government approving the Yucca Mountain site, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, as a repository for 77,000 tons of nuclear waste.

Gov. Kenny Guinn's spokesman Greg Bortolin said the legal opinion was "disappointing."

"From day one, we've been counting this as part of the match," he said. "We need every dollar against a foe that has a huge funding advantage."

Bob Loux, head of the state's Nuclear Projects Office, said he wanted to talk to Guinn if there should be additional fund raising efforts. There's enough money now to pay the bills incurred, he said.

"We're not in the hole," he said, noting he was already "slowing down expenditures."

But he said he will have to assess if there is enough money for additional advertising against Yucca Mountain.

Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, who sits on the committee, said he thought the matter had been settled.

"We made our votes on this at a previous meeting when I thought the matter was settled on matching," he said. "It was my belief that funds from Clark County could be matched even if they were earmarked for legal."

Clark County Commission Chairman Dario Herrera said his initial discussions with both Guinn and Bob Loux involved the county's donation being earmarked for the legal expenses.

"From my understanding, they said if the county was able to allocate $1.5 million, that would free up money the state had committed to the legal side for the important public relations battle," Herrera said.

He said he was not happy with the Legislative Counsel Bureau's legal opinion, because he thinks it cripples the state's efforts to block the dump.

"I'm disappointed because I think that limits our ability to reach out and explain the dangers of transporting nuclear waste, especially as we are making progress in that area," Herrera added. Loux told the finance committee that $4 million has been spent; there are bills of $1.5 million to process and $3.5 million is earmarked for the legal fight. If the Senate votes to approve the nuclear dump, the fight will progress to the courts, where there are at least six suits pending to sidetrack Yucca Mountain.

Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., asked the state for more money in the fight against Yucca Mountain to mount a public relations and advertising campaign. The senators hoped to drum up grassroots support against Yucca Mountain.

Reid was disappointed Clark County's donation will not be matched, his spokeswoman Tessa Hafen said.

"We are up against an administration that has made this a top priority and we are being outspent nearly 10 to 1," Hafen said. "We have made progress with the ongoing ad campaign and additional money would greatly help in stopping Yucca Mountain."

Nevada isn't on its own in paying for the anti-Yucca campaign -- environmental and activist groups have helped pay for the television commercials Nevada officials ran in Vermont, Utah, Wyoming and Iowa. The Vermont Public Interest Research Group helped pay for the Vermont ad; Physicians for Social Responsibility paid for the air time in Wyoming and Iowa.

Sun reporters Benjamin Grove and Erin Neff contributed to this story.