Officials point to cuts in New Mexico’s funding

Suzanne Struglinski

Tuesday, April 27, 2004 | 9:27 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department's elimination of funding for a New Mexico watchdog group illustrates why Nevada would not negotiate for federal benefits in exchange for accepting a high-level waste dump at Yucca Mountain, officials say.

Department budget cuts will force New Mexico's Environmental Evaluation Group, an organization created to monitor and provide technical scrutiny of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, to close by the end of the month.

The plant holds waste that is less radioactive than the spent nuclear fuel destined for Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The state oversees how the department manages the project.

"Given the DOE's (Energy Department's) record of cuts to Nevada's own nuclear waste oversight efforts through the years, it's no surprise to learn they are up to their same old tricks, only this time it's New Mexico," Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said.

"Whether we are talking about Yucca Mountain or the WIPP facility, it is abundantly clear that DOE does not want anyone challenging the safety of their plans or raising red flags about the dangers created by deadly nuclear waste."

A five-year contract that began in fiscal 2000 set an estimated budget of slightly more than $1.5 million, but officials of the New Mexico group complained that it was not enough to do their job, so a budget change in fiscal year 2002 allotted $2 million. That changed in April 2003, when the department informed EEG that its budget was being cut to $918,000.

After some debate, the department paid the group $1.6 million last year and gave it permission to maintain its staff by borrowing against its 2004 allocation. Then the funds were cut to $1.5 million, leaving the group with staffing levels based on a $2 million annual budget and enough money to operate only through April.

"This is why no one in Nevada would ever think about cutting some deal with DOE," said Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Office of Nuclear Projects.

Loux said the New Mexico situation is different from Nevada's because the oversight group is not a congressional budget line-item, but is funded at the department's discretion. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, which guides the Yucca project, requires the department to issue grants to the state and local governments for work on the project. Congress must approve a budget for the state. But the budget has been getting smaller.

Nevada sued the Energy Department in March, claiming it shortchanged the state $4 million this year to oversee the Yucca project.

"These independent agencies are necessary to ensure that all citizens are protected from the dangers of nuclear waste," Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., said. "We have seen this before though, the DOE simply does not want to take responsibility for their role in unfavorable and dangerous projects."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.