House again raising specter of temporary Yucca dump

Monday, July 14, 2003 | 11:15 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Nevada lawmakers are trying to head off an effort in the House to revive a proposal to ship nuclear waste to a temporary dump site at Yucca Mountain until a permanent national waste repository is completed at the location 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

The proposal was included in an energy and water spending bill approved last week by the House Appropriations subcommittee on energy and water projects. The bill set a $765 million Yucca Mountain project budget for the next fiscal year, although Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., a key Senate appropriator, plans to reduce that figure during budget negotiations.

Late last week Nevada lawmakers discovered the bill also included a provision that would pave the way for a temporary waste site in Nevada. The bill would allow nuclear power plant operators to begin shipping their waste to the state by 2007. That's well before the 2010 target date the Energy Department has set for completing Yucca Mountain.

Congress had previously debated the plan to ship waste to a temporary waste site in Nevada, but President Bill Clinton vetoed the proposal.

Nevada lawmakers would like to have the provision removed from the spending bill before it is approved by the full committee and sent to the House floor for a vote, but it's unknown if they would be able to negotiate the change.

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., intends to register his objection with Appropriations Committee leaders, Gibbons spokeswoman Amy Spanbauer said. Gibbons is also considering an amendment that would remove the language, she said.

"We'll be looking at all of our alternatives to get this stripped out of the bill," Spanbauer said.

Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., has spoken to the subcommittee chairman, Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio., and plans to talk to him again soon, Porter spokeswoman Traci Scott said. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., plans to send a letter to House members objecting to the bill language.

The bill is expected to be considered by the full House Appropriations Committee this week.