Senators call for Yucca probe

Benjamin Grove

Thursday, June 5, 2003 | 9:23 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., are urging Attorney General John Ashcroft to launch an investigation into alleged worker intimidation at the Yucca Mountain project.

In a letter dated Wednesday, the senators also urged Ashcroft to ensure the protection of workers who intend to testify about Yucca flaws. They also asked that Ashcroft review federal laws to ensure that workers are protected from retaliation by managers.

"This incident is about more than the Yucca Mountain Project, it is about how our federal government treats its employees and how it spends taxpayer money," the senators wrote. "The federal government has a responsibility to maintain the highest standards of integrity and professionalism in conducting its programs."

At issue are two Yucca workers who Reid and Ensign invited to testify at a May 28 Senate field hearing in Las Vegas. The hearing was designed to examine Yucca flaws and how Yucca workers are treated by management.

But Yucca auditors Don Harris and Robert Clark did not appear to testify. In separate instances, both had reported Yucca procedural flaws to supervisors and were subsequently reassigned to different duties. Harris was reinstated after several weeks and Clark reportedly voluntarily took another job with the project. The two have declined comment on why they did not appear at the hearing.

Energy Department managers deny worker intimidation, but Reid and Ensign suspect the two felt pressure to not testify. In their letter, the senators cited a letter from Yucca project chief Margaret Chu to Reid in which she wrote that she would not encourage the workers to testify.

"In light of the reported problems with worker retaliation at the project, the witnesses apparently felt this letter was an indication that they would be fired or removed from their current positions if they testified," the senators wrote.

Reid called the alleged intimidation "obnoxious." He said he spoke to Harris and Clark.

"Of course they wanted to testify," Reid said on CNN Wednesday, in an appearance with Ensign. "They are afraid of losing their jobs. This is something that the taxpayer should be concerned about. I think it's time that we got fairness involved in this and have an open book so that the American people knows what's happening."