Public land sought for nuke rail study

Suzanne Struglinski

Monday, Aug. 29, 2005 | 11:08 a.m.

The Energy Department's Draft Environmental Assessment on the rail corridor land can be found at www.ocrwm.doe.gov. Copies are also available at the Las Vegas Yucca Mountain Information Center, 4101-B Meadows Lane in Las Vegas. Public Hearing Schedule:

WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department wants to lock up more than 300,000 acres of public land from mining or drilling for 10 years, as part of its plan for a new rail line to move nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain.

No major environmental or economic impacts would result from the land withdrawal, according to a draft environmental assessment published today in the Federal Register.

Grazing permits, public access and other current uses of the land would not be affected, according to the department. The proposed withdrawal affects land in Esmeralda, Lincoln and Nye counties.

In December 2003, the department asked the Bureau of Land Management to withdraw 308,600 acres of public land from new surface entries and new mining claims for 20 years so it could study the land for the construction and maintenance of a rail line to the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

The withdrawal has temporarily been in place since then, allowing the department to study the land.

The rail line would not take up all the land but run somewhere through it. The withdrawal encompasses a milewide corridor running along the possible route.

According to today's assessment, the department said a 10-year withdrawal would allow enough time to conduct "all the necessary activities."

Yucca Mountain Project spokesman Allen Benson said the assessment is a step toward getting a right-of-way from the BLM to build the rail line.

The department expects to release a separate draft environmental impact statement for building the rail line to Yucca next year that will contain the exact location within the 308,600 acres the new railroad tracks would go.

The draft environmental impact statement would go through a public comment period. The department will evaluate the comments and make any changes as needed. Once the final statement is complete, the department will move to begin construction. Benson said most of the land would be relinquished once the final route was selected, although he did not give a specific timeline.

The department wants to open Yucca by 2012.

The department considered shorter time frames, but said "any amount of time under 10 years may not provide the Department adequate time to conduct activities, given the various uncertainties the program currently faces."

The department will take public comments on the assessment through Sept. 27.

Benson said a public comment period is not required for this type of withdrawal. The department would only need to notify the governor but instead went "way beyond" what is required to allow the public to be involved.