Editorial: An early Valentine’s Day ‘gift’

Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2006 | 8:28 a.m.

Shortly after George Bush won election as president in 2000, due in part to the help of swing state Nevada's four electoral votes, he "rewarded" us with his plan to make Nevada's Yucca Mountain the nation's permanent nuclear waste dump. It has been more than a year since Bush again carried this state's electoral votes in winning re-election, and his administration's belated "gift" to us for his second term is another toxic choice.

Last week the Defense Department, dismissing the objections of Nevada state officials, decided that Nevada will be the permanent storage site for 4,000 metric tons of toxic mercury. The mercury will be stored at the Army Ammunition Depot at Hawthorne, about 130 miles from Reno. State environmental officials are concerned about the danger posed to nearby Walker Lake.

Lt. Col. John Summers, commander of the Army depot at Hawthorne, said Nevada was chosen over five other sites around the country because of its security, record of handling hazardous materials and its isolation. The Defense Department may be confident, but given this administration's abysmal record in protecting the public from environmental hazards, we are anything but confident.

Of the 4,000 metric tons of mercury, 2,617 tons are stored near Hillsborough, N.J. Mercury is also stored in Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee. Of course, all of that mercury will have to be shipped cross-country, and plans are still being worked out as to how it will be transported.

The bottom line is that Nevada was picked because the Defense Department knows that this president views our state as nothing more than a toxic garbage dump. While much of Capitol Hill and the White House view much of the West this way, Nevada is getting singled out by this administration.

Thank goodness for term limits. If George Bush was re-elected a third time, we would hate to see what other environmental ticking time bomb he would try to send us.