Nevadans say Abraham letter shows hypocritical attitude

Benjamin Grove

Thursday, June 27, 2002 | 9:39 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?"

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Abraham as Energy Secretary has not shown the same concern about waste transportation that he did as a Michigan senator.

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

The Energy Department has held "numerous" hearings about Yucca Mountain outside Nevada, Energy spokesman Joe Davis said, although it is not clear how many dealt specifically with waste transportation issues.

The department has already begun training emergency responders in 30 states, Davis said.

"As Secretary Abraham has said, repeatedly, the DOE and other federal agencies will engage local and state officials in the issue of transportation," Davis said.