State sues over Yucca rail line

Suzanne Struglinski

Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2004 | 10:58 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Nevada sued the Energy Department once again today, this time over its plan to build a new rail line in the state to move spent nuclear fuel to Yucca Mountain.

Attorney General Brian Sandoval claims the department did not follow federal environmental policy and other laws when it proposed the 319-mile railroad through through Lincoln County and it is shutting out important outside regulators on the project. It filed the suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, the same court that last month threw out the nuclear waste storage project's 10,000-year radiation standard.

The department announced its intention in April to use the its " Caliente Corridor" route to move nuclear waste to Yucca, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Caliente was one of five routes proposed for a railroad because no rail line exists in the state to move waste containers to the mountain. The department said last December it preferred the mostly rail option over the mostly truck alternative for shipping the waste to Yucca.

Several public meetings took place throughout the state earlier this year to help the department gather information on what it should include in a draft environmental study to be completed next year on the Caliente route but Nevada claims the whole process was done out of order.

"The whole point of environmental review is to study the impacts before you make the decision, not after," Sandoval said.

In the suit, Nevada claims the department violated the National Environmental Policy Act, a federal law that requires an environmental analysis of federal projects before they are finalized.

Sandoval said the department did not contact land owners in advance to let them know their land would be used in the construction project, even though the department asked the Bureau of Land Management for more than 300,000 acres to study. He said the department proclaimed the route, applied for the land but only now is evaluating the environmental impacts.

Nevada also claims the department moved ahead with the largest railroad construction project in 80 years without consulting the Surface Transportation Board, the federal agency that oversees rail projects.

"Given DOE's track record at building anything, the Board is a far better agency than DOE to run a project of this magnitude," Sandoval said in a statement. "It is also far less biased."

The state also complains the department intends to use truck casks on rail cars to move the waste, a method which has not been analyzed for safety. The department has only evaluated using trucks casks on truck or rail cars using stronger containers specifically made to be used on trains.

"The proposed railroad through Caliente is a billion dollar boondoggle," said Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev. "Rather than follow regulations to protect Nevada's environment, the White House is barreling down the tracks with absolute disregard for the law and the people of Nevada."

Energy Department spokesman Joe Davis was not aware of the lawsuit this morning, so he declined comment on it. The department generally does not discuss pending litigation anyway.

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