Nevadans rap 1998 Abraham letter

Benjamin Grove

Thursday, June 27, 2002 | 11:12 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Nevada lawmakers say a 4-year-old letter written by then-Sen. Spencer Abraham unveils a hypocritical attitude about nuclear waste transportation.

Abraham, now Energy Secretary, wrote to his predecessor, former Secretary Bill Richardson in August 1998, on behalf of constituents in St. Clair County, Mich., referencing a DOE plan to ship plutonium through the county on its way to a site in Canada.

In the letter, Abraham writes that the community's elected officials and local residents were not familiar with the plan, and he demands a public hearing in the county.

"To not do so would be irresponsible and offensive to Michigan residents," Abraham wrote.

Nevada lawmakers are irked that four years later, Abraham as Energy Secretary has formally approved a plan to bury the nation's nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain without holding public hearings in countless communities -- including major cities -- that lie on truck and train routes that would be used to ship nuclear waste to Nevada.

"This is the height of hypocrisy," Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said. "Today he says that all (shipments) can be done safely. But obviously, nothing has changed since he wrote this letter on Aug. 27, 1998 and June 26, 2002. We still have the same concerns and worries that were expressed in his letter. Why is it OK to ship waste through every state but Michigan?"

The Energy Department held several hearings about Yucca Mountain outside Nevada in which transportation issues were discussed, Energy spokesman Joe Davis said. There is plenty of time before shipments would be made to Yucca to hold more hearings and prepare emergency responders, Davis said.

"We've got eight years to work with the states and local governments along the routes," Davis said.

Still, it's clear Abraham as Energy Secretary is not showing the same concern about waste transportation that he did as a Michigan senator, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said.

"If he had been serious about it, he would have followed up," Reid said. "As Secretary, he certainly hasn't done anything about it."

Abraham reminds Rep. Berkley, D-Nev., of former New Hampshire governor John Sununu who once objected to waste being buried in that state, and is now a pro-Yucca lobbyist, Berkley spokesman Michael O'Donovan said.

"When it comes to their own communities they are opposed to transportation of nuclear waste, and yet when it serves their political agendas, they are the most rabid pro-Yucca advocates in the country," O'Donovan said.