New look given to nuke shipment

Suzanne Struglinski

Monday, May 3, 2004 | 10:09 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department is evaluating its plan to ship nuclear waste from Ohio to the Nevada Test Site and will give the state a 45-day notice before anything gets moved, the department said Friday.

Attorney General Brian Sandoval threatened to sue the department last month if it did not stop its plan to move 153 million pounds of uranium waste from the Fernald Site in Ohio to the Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

A two-paragraph letter from Marc Johnston, the department's deputy general counsel for litigation, said the department is "evaluating the points raised in your letter and at this time we are unable to state how long that process will take."

The state argues that the makeup of the waste stored in the silos should not be classified as low-level waste.

The state also wanted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to intervene and stop the shipments. Johnston sent a separate letter to the NRC also saying it is still evaluating the plan.

Marta Adams, a senior deputy Nevada attorney general and Joe Egan, a Washington-area lawyer who works for the state on nuclear issues, each said the department "blinked" by issuing the letter. This is good news for Nevada, but not a solid victory yet until there is no chance the waste is coming, they said.

The state plans to issue a letter to the department saying it will not file a lawsuit if the department commits to leaving the waste in the silos, Adams said.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said the fight is not over.

"Nevada dodged a bullet today, but this is not the end of the story," she said. "The question remains whether or not DOE has the authority to bury these materials at the Nevada Test Site, which we know lacks the proper safeguards for this type of waste. The burden is now on the DOE. ..."