By Joe Schoenmann (contact)

Sun, Aug 31, 2008 (2 a.m.)

The Clark County Commission occasionally approves contracts for tens of thousands of dollars to do work relating to Yucca Mountain.

These contracts are for environmental analysts, scientists and lawyers hired to look over the shoulder of the federal government as it plods forward with its plan to turn the mountain 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas into the nation’s nuclear waste dump.

The federal government’s goal is to move about 154 million pounds of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel rods from 126 sites across the country to Yucca, an effort that has been stalled by lawsuits and Congressional action.

Meanwhile, local governments surrounding Yucca Mountain spend millions of dollars every year to monitor what the feds are doing.

Here’s the kicker: Those local governments don’t foot the bill.

The beneficiaries of nuclear power do.

How does that work?

Harry Kelman, senior management analyst with the Clark County Nuclear Waste Program, said a decades-old provision in the federal Nuclear Waste Policy Act forces the federal government to allow, and pay for, monitoring of Yucca Mountain plans by all “affected” units of government, including Nye County, where the repository resides, and the counties surrounding it.

Clark County’s portion this fiscal year is $1.7 million, Kelman said. That money comes from a portion of the utility fees paid by customers across the United States whose electricity comes from nuclear plants.

The contractors will do environmental impact assessments, review transportation reports, complete case studies, and monitor and collect a variety of data.

“No taxpayer is paying for Yucca Mountain,” Kelman said. “It’s a ratepayer that agreed to pay that rate.”

Is the hiring of consultants necessary?

“One of the things we try to do is protect the residents within our county and part of that is with the various studies that we do,” Kelman said. “We’re about a six-person team here and there’s no way we could do the work we do with six people.”

He also noted that the county determined it was cheaper to hire consultants than to add staff. And private sector consultants are able to change directions more quickly.

“One of the biggest parts of the program is the DOE (Energy Department) from year to year shifts their program around,” Kelman said. “We as a government can’t shift that fast. But a private consultant can.”

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Ever tried to take a picture at the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign on the median of Las Vegas Boulevard South? It’s practically a death-defying feat. If you decide to forgo parking in the turnabout in the median, or on the median itself, the only way to reach the sign is to park off Las Vegas Boulevard, then dash across several lanes of traffic. But it’s such a tourist draw, will anything ever be done?

A: Very soon, in fact. A county spokesman said Southwest Iron Works will likely begin work on a 12-space parking lot, plus two bus-sized spaces, on the median in late September. Completion is expected in two months. The Clark County Commission approved Southwest’s bid of $416,000 on Aug. 5. At worst, the spokesman said, one lane of Las Vegas Boulevard will be closed during part of construction.