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Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010 | 1:31 p.m.
Sun topics
WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department is expected on Friday to announce the formation of a long-awaited panel to study alternatives to the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository – a critical step toward ending the proposed dump project in Nevada, officials said.
The announcement of the panel would come as President Barack Obama is scheduled Monday to unveil his 2011 budget, which is expected to zero out funding for the nuclear waste dump.
Those who want to continue the Yucca Mountain project have criticized the administration for failing to come up with alternatives for the nation’s nuclear waste.
The Energy Department could not immediately confirm that the announcement was being planned.
However, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s office confirmed that the panel would be announced on Friday.
The panel would study alternatives to the nuclear waste repository and ultimately make a recommendation to the administration.
In his State of the Union address Wednesday night, the president called for “building a new generation of safe, clean, nuclear power plants” – a remark that did not please some of Nevada’s Democrats, including Reps. Shelley Berkley and Dina Titus, who want assurances any waste from the new plants would not got to Nevada.
The tunnels above Summerland would make a lovley site for the waste dump. As no one wants it in the already finished site.
This would create a thousand jobs for clark county.
You can keep whatever few jobs this nuclear cemetery would create. Even in a down economy, no Nevadan should want to sell out their state forever for a project that no one else wants. If Yucca were ever built, it would do more economic harm than good, especially to Las Vegas property values and to our tourism-based economy.
I've lived in Vegas for 30 plus years, listened to the Yucca mountain arguments for that long. Hey, remember when the clark county seal in the floor at the justice center had a mushroom cloud over sheep mountain in it? It is time to start thinking and not knee jerking. No one is ever going to put a subdivision on Yucca mountain, maybe dell webb, but probably not. The state could make billions off of the deal. Specialized transport, shipping containers, storage containers, maintence, ect. The nuclear waste that is stored up wind from us will be contained not to mention the waste that is being watched over by septugenarian security inc. and drooled over by Allah be praised sucide bombers. Never in years have I ever heard of a thoughful suggestion on alternative locations to gather and store these waste. Waste along with other nuclear substances that flow through this valley on a weekly basis that is never mentioned or that there is a problem with. So enough, there is both the potiental that we could show the rest of the country that we care about the security of others but create an industry that will bring billions of dollars to the local economy with odds better in our favour than slot machines. Otherwise just put a sign up at the border that says "To heck with you, drop your money in the nearest casino, buy a full tank of gas, turn around and get the heck out. Take your snot rags ect with you. Don't dawdle,there are more fools right behind you."
Why not Yucca Mountain...thanks to Senator Reid we have nothing going for us and our State...we are ineligible for Stimulus money for rapid rail...no clout from our Senior Senator...we should take what we can get...we are nearly destitute as a State...'sell out our State'...no one wants it, especially those in Washington who refuse to even consider helping us.
So DOE in the early 1980s spent hundreds of millions of dollars investigating potential repositories, and now for $5 million a new "Blue Ribbon Commisssion" of just a few people will decide what to do.
Brilliant - NOT!
Whatever answer they come up with will be a totally political answer to a scientific problem.
Pathetic. It is hard to believe that anyone would be on this panel as it will ruin their reputation.
This thing is practically built... If funding is going to be stopped it is because the construction is done and the power companies from across the US are paying for this site actively... What does this mean? This site is going to get used... The hole is dug... Google map it, the site is established... and has been for quite some time...
The state of Nevada's elected officials are clueless about how much this state will benefit from this... It may be referred to as waste but this place is more valuable than Fort Knox to the U.S....
I read an article a few years back from one of our ex political leaders that claimed if Nevada played this correct it would be worth double what gaming is to the state... But again driving something like this away with fear will always get you votes election over election...I just wish people would take some time to understand how this would work then the 'not in my backyard' crowd may actually understand how valuable this is to the state... but in the meantime it is much better to fight something that is going to happen whether you like it or not...Even if you don't understand how it works, you need to understand this stuff is coming here, and at this point Nevada is going to see no benefit from it...
Does anyone know when the state of Nevada attends to pay back the billions it squandered on the failed Yucca Mountain project? Is this debt to the American people something that Harry Reid is solely responsible for or does the citizens of the state of Nevada bare responsibility since they put this fear monger in office?
Good Morning everyone,here we have sitting in nevada the answer to blackouts, brownouts, and the ability to sell power to all of the states around us, please send letters to Harry Reid and lets get going on a nuclear power plant at the repository at Yucca mountain, not just store the used nuclear fuel,have a plant right there on the ground, to turn it into the power we need. Utah, Texas,California, are all building, storage for the future to store, here we are standing with a repository already built, hire thousands of people to build the power plant, and then get to work on nevadas future what are the people of nevada dragging their feet for, we could be leading the nation in power productivity and Harry Reid, has the President behind him saying no, as a democrat, and not silent anymore, lets speak up for our state, more and more states are going into gambling so that will be a shared industry, and here we are on the line, with our future in our hands and letting Harry Reid, saying no to Nevada, lets get a movement going and keep our repository going and our families jobs here in the counties around Las Vegas, Arda Higbee
The United States needs affordable energy and Nevada needs jobs. When will we find a politician with the guts to imbrace forms of energy that we can afford. Nevada needs to step up negotiate a deal for Yucca Mountain that will put our state in a position to lead this nation in job and energy creation.Gaming has been good for Nevada but some of us do not have the legs to be cocktail waitresses.Nevada needs jobs and nuclear energy could provide these jobs in a clean safe environment. Closed Loop nuclear energy production at the Nevada Test Site and Yucca Mountain could solve our energy needs and provide high quality job. I ask that the political leaders of the state take a open minded approach to solving job creation in Nevada. WE NEED JOBS!Vaughn M. Higbee
Yucca Mountain is dead. This announcement is further evidence of that. THANK YOU SENATOR REID.