White House denies attempt to change Yucca radiation rules

Suzanne Struglinski

Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004 | 11:13 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The White House today denied a report that it is pushing Congress to change the radiation standard for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in an apparent attempt to overturn a federal appellate court ruling.

Congressional Quarterly, a Washington publication that tracks action on Capitol Hill, reported Tuesday that the White House wanted to attach to a spending bill a provision that would set the radiation standard, which a Washington appellate court this year threw out.

Chad Kolton, spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget, denied the report.

"The president has said the administration will live with the court's decision," Kolton said, asking "what White House" this proposal came from.

During the campaign, President Bush told Nevadans, "I will allow this process to be appealed to the courts and to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and I will stand by the decision of the courts and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission."

The Energy Department and other federal agencies have made clear they are not appealing the ruling to the Supreme Court. Energy Department spokesman Joe Davis said the Environmental Protection Agency would develop an appropriate regulatory response to the court's decision, as recommended in the court's opinion.

The federal court ruling was a blow to the administration, which was pushing to file its license request this year because it put the key standard -- how long the mountain is to keep radiation inside -- at issue and could delay the project.

If Congress passed a law setting a new standard, it would pave the way for the administration to move forward on the planned nuclear waste repository 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

Congressional Quarterly also reported that the White House was pushing to get more funding for Yucca Mountain by allowing Congress to dip directly into the Nuclear Waste Fund.

Marnie Funk, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee spokeswoman, said both requests came in about three days ago.

Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., knew nothing about the proposal to change radiation standards.

Gov. Kenny Guinn and Attorney General Brian Sandoval also were not aware of the EPA proposal, according to their offices.

Democrats on the Energy and Natural Resources committee also had not heard of the proposal yet, spokesman Bill Wicker said.

Ensign was told by the White House today that is was only pushing for the Nuclear Waste Fund change, spokesman Jack Finn said.

Kolton said the administration is strongly encouraging Congress on the waste fund to avoid further delays.

But Bush has wanted to reclassify the Nuclear Waste Fund since he first introduced his 2005 budget in February.

Taking Yucca "off-budget" is a proposal that has long been advanced by project proponents, but has met with resistance not just from Nevada lawmakers but fiscal hawks in Congress who do not want to relinquish annual budget control.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee considered a similar proposal earlier this year but the proposal failed.

News of these possible riders broke at the same time if became clear that a stalemate in the Senate over the Yucca budget would not likely be broken as the lame-duck Congress tried to finalize business for the year.

The Energy and Water spending bill has been reported to be left out of consideration of a larger bill that will roll eight spending bills in one.

Reid and Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., couldn't agree on the Yucca budget for the current fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. Domenici also heads the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee.

Each year, Reid wants to cut the funding while Domenici and pro-Yucca lawmakers attempt to secure what the Energy Department requested.

The department wanted $880 million. The House approved $131 million, and the Senate has not been able to come to a compromise. The resulting impasse likely will result in lawmakers simply allocating to Yucca the same amount the project got in the last fiscal year.

Reid on Tuesday hinted that he hasn't given up hope of working out a compromise on the Yucca budget that could mean a lower project budget. He said today that the project would most likely be left at the $577 million. Reid and Domenici have talked on the phone several times with each other since the Senate reconvened on Tuesday.

But a Domenici aide said there's no time left in the session for more negotiation. Domenici will not accept less than the $577 million, said Funk, Domenici spokeswoman.

"It's a little late in the game to be considering other options," Funk said.