Lincoln not saying yes to Yucca

Stephen Curran

Tuesday, May 18, 2004 | 11:08 a.m.

The Lincoln County commission on Monday voted to soften language in its official reaction to an environmental study for a rail line to the proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain.

All five commissioners voted to change terminology within a two-page document that members felt incorrectly implied that the 319-mile railroad, which would travel through Lincoln County, was inevitable. The Energy Department proposes to ship as much as 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste to the mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

Commissioner Hal Keaton, voicing strong opposition to the project, said the original version of the letter that is to be sent to the Energy Department "encourage(d) the transportation of nuclear waste to Nevada."

"It makes presumptions it's going to happen and I don't think that's a position we should take," he said during the commission meeting in Pioche.

Other Lincoln County officials, including Caliente Mayor Kevin Phillips and Commission Chairman Spencer Hafen, have touted perceived economic benefits from the proposed rail route, which would wind through Lincoln, Nye and Esmeralda counties.

The decision to alter the letter came after a contentious morning decision to appoint Hafen as a primary liaison between the board and the federal agency.

The revised comments will be sent to Robin Sweeney, Environmental Impact Statement manager for the Energy Department's transportation office in Las Vegas, Hafen said after the meeting.

Among items changed was a written assumption about a possible rail spur operations and maintenance facility proposed for the county. The document now reads: "DOE (the Energy Department) is encouraged to identify and evaluate economic impacts associated with locating various transportation system and rail support facilities for communications and shipment tracking ..."

Both versions of the document encouraged the agency to "identify all reasonable means to maximize favorable rail and transportation system economic impacts on Lincoln County."

Changing the document was a subtle way to address a growing schism between those in favor of and those against the Yucca Mountain project, Keaton said.

"Some will tell you it's going to happen and I don't think that's the case," he said.

Also at issue was what Keaton called a "glaring example of miscommunication" within the commission related to Hafen's self-appointment last month as the board's principal contact for dealings with the department. Keaton and Lea Rasura-Alfano, a coordinator for the Lincoln County Nuclear Oversight Program, said they were not aware of the decision that afforded Hafen and county consultants the ability to speak on behalf of the five-member body.

Hafen said the appointment was simply an effort to streamline communications between the two bodies.

"Decisions (regarding Yucca Mountain) still have to come to the commission," he said.

Neither Keaton nor Rasura-Alfano received the April 21 letter from Energy Department Deputy Director W. John Arthur, confirming Hafen as the county's prime contact, they said.

The members then voted unanimously to appoint Hafen the county's primary liaison between the commission and the federal agency.

"It didn't matter who the contact person was," Keaton said. "My point is that one person shouldn't be doing business on behalf of the commission."