Jon Ralston on facts of Richardson’s record on Yucca

By Jon Ralston

Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007 | 7:26 a.m.

"For more than 20 years, in Congress and as secretary of energy, I have opposed the Yucca Mountain project."

- Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Richardson, May 24 campaign release

When I first questioned the New Mexico governor in February about his false characterization of his nuclear waste dump record, he retorted that I had "wrong facts." But facts, as a man (John Adams) who once held the job Richardson seeks knew, are stubborn things, although apparently not quite as stubborn as the Democratic candidate.

You would think that a man running a "Nevada or bust" campaign, a man who has been here more than any other White House contender, would not pump himself up on this, of all issues, so someone could come along to deflate him.

But on Tuesday, here and in Colorado, Richardson's balloon was finally pricked, the air rushed out of his inflated characterization and the facts of his dump record were revealed: First, as a congressman, he supported the most infamous pro-dump legislation; and then, as secretary of energy, he was an enabler of a policy to study only the Nevada site and helmed an operation that moved along construction of the facility.

Richardson, as first disclosed by former Las Vegas journalist Susan Greene in The Denver Post on Tuesday, voted for the "Screw Nevada bill" in 1987, the measure so named because it short-circuited the intent of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act by narrowing the dump choices from three to one. The move was seen as the first and most egregious of many steps in putting politics over science .

As Nevada politicians squealed about the unfairness - one aide to then-Gov. Richard Bryan called it a "gang-rape mentality" and Sen. Harry Reid pessimistically called it "the end of the road" - Richardson voted for the bill. That is a fact.

Richardson, as he told Greene, said Tuesday on "Face to Face" that he voted for the measure because it was part of an omnibus bill that contained many worthwhile projects. Consider this exchange during what was a very contentious interview:

Richardson: "That's a bill that contained money for pensions, for Medicare, for defense."

Me: "It's the Screw Nevada bill!"

Richardson: "There is no such thing."

Tell that to Bryan, Reid and then-Reps. Jim Bilbray and Barbara Vucanovich, both of whom spoke out against the measure, and to voters here he is now trying to convince that he is one of them. This was no overwhelmingly popular bill Richardson supported 20 years ago - it passed 237-181 - and he was part of the Screw Nevada majority. That is a fact.

Nevertheless, Richardson continues to portray himself as a friend of the state on the dump, frequently speaking in absolute terms and obdurately refusing to acknowledge his true record. Richardson claimed Tuesday that as secretary of energy he "disqualified the site" because of concerns about water. If the site is disqualified, what has been going on since the Clinton administration?

Richardson also loves to play up President Clinton's veto of the site, often without mentioning that was for interim storage. Clinton and Richardson deserve credit for that veto because interim storage was a move designed to, like the 1987 legislation, change the intent of the existing law to force Nevada to take the waste early.

But, ironically, in making the case in front of Congress during his tenure against the interim storage legislation, Richardson argued that the permanent dump project was proceeding. On March 12, 1999, he told a subcommittee that the dump "was on the right track and cited several recent accomplishments, including the completion of a 5-mile tunnel through Yucca Mountain," according to a summary of his testimony.

Yes, Richardson argued that sound science should take precedence over politics - where have we heard that before? - but he did nothing to slow down the dump. And when given the opportunity as DOE boss to do what he claimed Tuesday he had done - disqualify the project - he declined, despite written entreaties from two Nevada governors - Bob Miller and Kenny Guinn. That is a fact.

"To be truthful and honest, he (Richardson) didn't do anything to slow this thing down," Bob Loux, the state agency head who might know more about the fight against the dump than even Bryan or Reid, told Greene.

Richardson was not nearly as hostile as DOE bosses to come - Hazel O'Leary and Spencer Abraham, to name a couple. But the way he has portrayed his record on Yucca Mountain is misleading, disingenuous and, ultimately, false.

And that's a fact.