Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Nuclear Waste Yucca Mountain topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resolution urges federal government to reject Yucca Mountain as national nuclear waste repository
Summary
Senate Joint Resolution 7 asks Congress and federal agencies to recognize Yucca Mountain as unsuitable for long‑term storage of high‑level radioactive waste; witnesses cited geological, transport and safety concerns and urged a unified state position. Several environmental and local government groups testified in support.
The Assembly Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections heard Senate Joint Resolution 7 on April 22, a measure that urges Congress and federal agencies to recognize Yucca Mountain as unsuitable for a national repository for spent nuclear fuel and high‑level radioactive waste.
Sponsor Senator James Ohrenschall (Senate District 21) described long‑running community concerns about the Yucca Mountain project. Nathaniel Allison, a University of Nevada, Reno undergraduate presenting for the sponsor, said the resolution does not oppose nuclear energy generally but asks federal decision‑makers to rule out Yucca Mountain as a site for the nation's nuclear waste.
Fred Dilger, Executive Director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, provided technical testimony. Dilger told the committee that the Yucca Mountain repository is capped at 77,000 metric tons but that current inventories nationwide already exceed that figure; he said the site has geological and hydrological vulnerabilities and that surface facilities would be exposed to busy military airspace near Creech Air Force Base and to future rocket operations. Dilger also summarized calculations about the risk and cost of an attack or severe accident involving waste canisters and said routing large numbers of shipments through population centers concentrates both routine exposure and security risks.
Supporters included the Vegas Chamber, the Nevada Conservation League, the Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter, the cities of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, and other conservation and civic groups. Several witnesses said the site's proximity to Las Vegas, concerns about groundwater, and transportation risks justified urging federal officials to seek alternatives.
No callers testified in opposition or neutral positions during the hearing. The sponsor closed by urging the committee to present a united state position to the federal government; the committee did not record a vote during the hearing.
