Editorial: … but fight isn’t over

Friday, July 9, 2004 | 6:24 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

July 10 - 11, 2004

Attorney General Brian Sandoval, after Friday's federal appeals court ruling on the government's plan to build a nuclear waste dump in Nevada, went as far as to say that "Yucca Mountain is dead." While we believe that this should be the end of the line for the project after the favorable court decision, we're not as optimistic that this project has been deep-sixed. We're still concerned that President Bush and a Republican-controlled Congress could undo the court's decision by passing a law that would set more lax safety standards for the Environmental Protection Agency to meet. In addition, the court's decision will be appealed, and there is no way to predict how this Supreme Court might rule.

The federal appeals court's ruling is a major reason why Nevadans should think very carefully about handing Bush this state's electoral votes in November. Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry has promised to put an end to the Yucca Mountain project. Bush has already shown us his colors by promising one thing during the 2000 campaign -- using "sound science" to determine the project's fate -- and doing another after he was elected when, in 2002, he persuaded Congress to approve the dump. Any Nevadan, concerned about their health and safety and that of generations to come must be keenly aware that this may be our last, best chance to stop Yucca Mountain in its tracks.