Editorial: Legal fight over dump to kick in

Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2002 | 9:13 a.m.

Earlier this year Congress approved President Bush's plan to bury 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain. But the Energy Department still must obtain a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission before it can build a dump in Nevada -- a license that Nevada is fighting. As part of that fight, the state has challenged revised federal rules for licensing a nuclear waste dump. To prevent the escape of radiation, the federal government now wants to rely on man-made barriers instead of the mountain's natural geology, as was originally proposed. Last week, in a hopeful development for Nevada, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected the federal government's motion to dismiss the state's challenge.

The court's decision didn't address the heart of the state's case, so it doesn't qualify as a "victory," but it does point out just how important it is to mount the best legal strategy to fight the dump. On Thursday the state Board of Examiners -- the governor, secretary of state and attorney general -- is expected to approve a $4 million contract with Egan & Associates. The Virginia law firm, which specializes in nuclear issues, will represent the state in its Yucca Mountain legal fight. It's a pricey contract, but the stakes are high. If Nevada loses the legal fight, thousands of shiploads of nuclear waste will travel through our state for decades before it's buried just 90 miles from Las Vegas. When it's put like that, spending $4 million doesn't seem like such a big price tag.

It's clear that Congress and regulatory agencies are ignoring the dangers of shipping and burying nuclear waste, but the nuclear power industry and the Energy Department can tap deep money reservoirs to hire a slew of attorneys to cloud the issue. The Energy Department alone is setting aside $16 million for legal costs to obtain a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build the dump. The state of Nevada, then, should spare no expense in fully funding its legal fight to protect the health and safety of this state's residents.