Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2005 | 8:08 a.m.
The chairman of the Nevada Board of Regents -- a Las Vegas attorney who was on Gov. Kenny Guinn's short list to replace former Attorney General Brian Sandoval -- may soon assist Lincoln County in efforts related to the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.
Bret Whipple, a Lincoln County native who practices criminal defense law in Las Vegas, said he is considering providing legal assistance to Lincoln County's Yucca Mountain Oversight Program and the associated Joint City-County Impact Alleviation Committee.
Whipple said his major purpose would be to help Lincoln County avoid some of the legal problems that have plagued the county's spending of federally provided oversight funds.
Whipple is part of a family of ranchers with deep roots in Lincoln County, which has a population of about 4,500.
"I love Lincoln County and Nevada, and I think it's important that they're protected as much as possible," he said.
Whipple has asked the Nevada Ethics Board for an opinion on whether there would be any potential conflicts because of his regent position. The contract and pay for Whipple also would have to be settled before he would begin the job.
But the mere potential of Whipple working for Lincoln County already has raised eyebrows for several reasons. One is that some observers believe the county leadership supports the Energy Department's effort to store 77,000 tons of nuclear waste in Nevada and build a railroad through the state to bring in the waste.
Most of the state's elected leadership strongly opposes the proposed repository. Doing work that even indirectly supports the repository could be a handicap for someone considering running for higher office in the future, as Whipple is thought to be.
Another unusual facet of Whipple's potential Lincoln County work is that his father, Kent Whipple, died from lung cancer in 1978, a victim of radioactive fallout from above-ground atomic bomb testing five decades ago, family members believe. The Whipple family was among those who sued the U.S. government in 1982 for compensation for exposure to radioactive fallout.
The suit failed, but legislative remedies provided financial compensation for "downwinders" and the Whipple family received $70,000 about a decade ago, Bret Whipple said.
"I would just say, shame on you, Mr. Whipple," said Peggy Maze Johnson, executive director of Citizen Alert, a Nevada group working to stop placement of the dump. "Looking at your family history, how could you? What are you thinking?"
Johnson said the majority of the Lincoln County Commission is "part of that little cabal to fight the state in the state's fight against Yucca Mountain. They are totally going against the wishes of the people of the state."
But Whipple said the work he is considering for Lincoln County does not mean he wants the Yucca Mountain repository.
He said his work would stem from problems that Lincoln County has had following Energy Department audits of money provided to the county, resulting in the federal government withholding hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years. The county has appealed the Energy Department's withholding of funds.
Whipple, who is a certified public accountant as well as a lawyer, said he could apply both areas of expertise in the job.
"I look at it as protecting them, assisting Lincoln County to ensure that they don't have those kinds of problems," Whipple said. "I'd be working with the district attorney in Lincoln County to provide legal oversight in terms of how those funds are spent."
Lincoln County Commissioner Hal Keaton, the most outspoken commissioner against the dump, said people should not assume that Whipple is on the other side.
"That (oversight) committee has been in trouble with the finances for three years, maybe more," Keaton said. "They (county commissioners) need someone who can give them some good advice and not this shoot-from-the-hip stuff. That's not a good way to do things."
Whipple's Lincoln County roots, Keaton said, would be another plus for the county government.
"He's a Lincoln County boy," Keaton said. "I thought, who better to approach to fill that spot?"
Working to help avoid pitfalls in spending federal Yucca Mountain funds does not mean Whipple supports the dump, Keaton said.
"I don't believe this indicates he endorses Yucca Mountain," he said. "It was me who started it by asking for him. This money is going to come to the county. We need to manage it properly. We haven't been doing that."
Lea Rasura, Lincoln County's coordinator of the oversight program and the joint county-city impact group, agreed. She said that her county commission has never formally endorsed the repository.
"There is a mission statement," she said. "That mission statement clearly says (the county will) minimize and clearly understand negative impacts and risks and maximize potential benefits. If this (the dump) happens, we have to protect our citizens, our livelihoods, our neighbors and families. Safety is the first issue.
"All we're trying to do is take a proactive role in the decision-making process."
Commissioner Tommy Rowe said the commission's stance on the Yucca proposal is misunderstood, adding that he hopes that misunderstanding does not extend to Whipple as well.
"We, at least myself and my constituents, we don't support Yucca Mountain, but we feel we're going to get it anyway, and we want the benefits if we are going to get it," Rowe said.
He said Whipple would work with Lincoln County's legal representation in Washington to help bring federal dollars to the county.
But Johnson does not buy the argument that Whipple is simply serving his hometown and county. Working for Lincoln County's legal team would put him on the other side of the Yucca argument, she said.
In the end, welcoming federal mitigation dollars is the same for Lincoln County as welcoming the dump, she said.
"If he's in that position, then I don't think he's an ally," she said. "He's enabling them."
Launce Rake can be reached at 259-4127 or at [email protected].
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