Guest columnist Jim Gibbons: Another perspective on Yucca Mountain

Friday, May 20, 2005 | 10:31 a.m.

Jim Gibbons, a Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, represents Nevada's 2nd Congressional District.

It is unfortunate that Jeff German, who writes for a paper committed to reporting every development with the Yucca Mountain Project, did not take the time to review my record in fighting this misguided policy. In a recent column, "Gibbons has late awakening," Mr. German asks, "Where has Gibbons been during his eight years on Capitol Hill?" While he could easily read the back issues of the Las Vegas Sun, I am pleased to have this opportunity to answer him directly.

As a member of Congress, I have vigorously fought and opposed the Yucca Mountain Project against both the Clinton administration and the Bush administration. I have spoken out against this proposal over 100 times on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. I have written dozens of letters to key administration leaders identifying areas where the science at Yucca has proven to be inconsistent with the law outlined in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. I have met with officials from both the current and previous administrations urging them to reconsider their proposed efforts to ship and store nuclear waste in Nevada due to the poor credibility of the science.

When Yucca Mountain was officially proposed by then-DOE Secretary Abraham to President Bush, I was quoted as saying, "It is unfortunate that Secretary Abraham would continue green-lighting a project that has been riddled with corruption and mismanagement since its inception." This statement echoes my remarks in 2001 when allegations arose about a key Yucca contractor under the Clinton administration.

At that time, I said, "This appears to be part of an ongoing persistent bias to find Yucca Mountain suitable long before the evidence has been completed." I have maintained this same position about the bias of DOE towards opening Yucca Mountain at any cost during my entire Congressional career.

I have also consistently voted against every spending bill put forward in Congress that allocated federal funding to Yucca Mountain and have continuously opposed spending billions of dollars on Yucca Mountain. The Las Vegas Sun even quoted me as saying, "I think it is irresponsible to continue to waste millions upon millions of dollars on a project that is unsafe and in no way will solve our nation's nuclear waste problem."

Additionally, in the Las Vegas Sun's own analysis of the 2004 Congressional races, the paper stated: "Gibbons strongly opposes a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. As a geologist, he says he cannot accept the idea that putting such highly radioactive material in a mountain would work."

Furthermore, I find it unfortunate that Peggy Maze Johnson of Citizen Alert asserts that I have not been paying attention to the issue of science. My office has oftentimes utilized the talent and research provided by many activist groups in our fight against Yucca Mountain -- including from Citizen Alert.

As a geologist, I am fully aware of the scientific problems with Yucca Mountain and the policy of deep geologic burial of high-level nuclear waste. In fact, I have publicized them for years. In 2001 the General Accounting Office outlined over 200 technical and scientific flaws with the project. At that time, I stated both to the Las Vegas Sun and to President Bush that it is a failed scientific process and Yucca Mountain will turn out to be the greatest waste of taxpayer dollars in U.S. history.

The Nevada delegation remains unified in our opposition to the Yucca Mountain Project. I would give Citizen Alert more credibility if they offered to meet with me or my staff to discuss specific areas where we could strengthen or advance our fight in Congress. Unfortunately, they issue a politically charged attack against me -- even though they seem to share my passionate opposition to the Yucca Mountain project.

The fact remains that throughout my tenure in Congress, I have taken on both Republican and Democratic administrations as well as congressional leaders on this issue. While my fight against Yucca Mountain has not sat well with leaders in my own party, including the Speaker of the House, I remain committed to seeing that the Nuclear Waste Policy Act is modified so that it reflects the science and technology of the 21st century ... rather than the outdated, decades-old science that was used to create it.