Editorial: Don’t reward Yucca lie

Friday, May 7, 2004 | 5:46 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

May 8 - 9, 2004

Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry reminded Nevadans last week about an anniversary of sorts regarding Yucca Mountain. Kerry noted it was this time four years ago that George Bush promised this state's residents, in a letter to Gov. Kenny Guinn, that he wouldn't approve sending nuclear waste to Nevada's Yucca Mountain unless it was scientifically safe to do so. "But after the election, President Bush caved (in) to special interests, broke his promise to Nevada and proceeded to do his utmost to turn the state into a nuclear waste dump," Kerry said. Bush, in 2002, did persuade Congress to approve the plan to build a dump at Yucca Mountain. But a campaign spokesman for Bush, Tracey Schmitt, responded last week that the president "has been clear and consistent that the decision regarding Yucca Mountain should be based on the very best science."

So who's right?

In order to answer the question, it's important to consider that in February 2000, a few months before Bush's pledge, the Republican-controlled Congress voted overwhelmingly to weaken federal regulations so it would be easier to send nuclear waste to Nevada, possibly as early as 2007. But Democratic President Clinton vetoed the legislation, saying it would be a step backward in determining the scientific suitability of Yucca Mountain. Ultimately, 34 senators -- including Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts -- voted to sustain the president's veto on May 2, 2000, forestalling for at least another year any attempt to fast-track nuclear waste to Nevada. While the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Al Gore, was on record strongly supporting the veto, Bush had remained silent. It was only a day after the Senate's failure to override Clinton's veto that Bush revealed his pledge, saying that he, too, would use sound science in deciding Yucca Mountain's fate.

Questions lingered about Bush's commitment, though, especially since the nuclear power industry, which had been trying for years to accelerate a final decision on Yucca Mountain, had lavished him with campaign contributions. Finally, as the race tightened in Nevada with just a few weeks left in the presidential election, Bush running mate Dick Cheney came to Las Vegas and claimed that there was no difference between Gore and Bush on Yucca Mountain. The 2000 election was close and enough Nevadans trusted Bush's pledge of fairness on Yucca Mountain that this state, after having twice given its electoral votes to Clinton, went for Bush.

Despite Bush's vow of fairness to Nevada, the new administration immediately went about making preparations for Yucca Mountain. Less than a year after Bush was sworn into office, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham recommended that Bush go forward with a nuclear waste dump in Nevada. Bush fought hard to get the dump approved by Congress, which Congress did in 2002, although it was clear that it would be dangerous to transport nuclear waste cross-country and there were serious doubts about the safety of its burial in Yucca Mountain. The independent General Accounting Office, Congress' investigative arm, reported that there were 293 scientific questions about Yucca Mountain that still hadn't been resolved. Going forward wasn't about sound science, it was all about hardball politics, allowing the nuclear power industry to cash in its chits at the expense of a sm all state such as Nevada. Kerry, meanwhile, remained committed to Nevada's interests, voting against Bush's nuclear waste p! lan.

It is obvious now to everyone that George Bush's election in 2000 carried terrible consequences for Nevada's fight against Yucca Mountain. Yet in this election year the same Republican leaders in Nevada, including Guinn, who said four years ago that we should trust Bush, now downplay the differences they have with him on Yucca Mountain. They say this is just an issue where they "agree to disagree." To the people who live here, Yucca Mountain is not an issue where either side could be right. Yucca Mountain carries the potential of disaster for this state. Top Nevada Republicans, by actively backing Bush for another term, are rewarding the man who lied when he led Nevadans to believe that this state would get a fair shake on Yucca Mountain.