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November 21,2003
Greber fails to rally anti-repository troops
By MARK WAITE But commissioners, long resigned to the fact Yucca Mountain would eventually become a reality, affirmed a 2002 resolution to "constructively engage" with the U.S. Department of Energy as the project proceeds to final licensing. Greber, the former general manager of the Longstreet Inn and Casino in Amargosa Valley, said county commissioners should be the first line of defense for residents of Nye County, yet they've taken a neutral position. Greber said the high-level nuclear waste is coming from 131 storage sites in 39 states, and the federal government has mandated all of the material to be stored at Yucca Mountain, 50 miles north of Pahrump and 20 miles east and north of Beatty and Amargosa Valley, respectively. He said the 77,000 tons of spent nuclear rods equates to 154 million pounds. Greber quoted U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who described Nye County Commissioners as "minor players" for refusing to join the fight against the repository. Greber described visits to Washington D.C., by Commissioner Henry Neth and former Commissioner Jeff Taguchi as harmful to Nevada's interests. A September 2002 news article revealed 67 tanks have leaked more than 1 million gallons of waste at a U.S. Department of Energy site in Washington State, where 53 million gallons of liquid nuclear waste is stored. Greber's five-page statement noted the next Sept. 11 tragedy could happen on Highway 373 in Amargosa Valley, on U.S. Highway 95 in Beatty or where commissioners were meeting at the Pahrump Community Center. "If you continue to think this is about the money, consider this: The federal government is projecting a federal deficit for the current fiscal year that will approach one-half trillion dollars," Greber said. "How much money do you think is going to be allocated to Nye? "As county commissioners for Nye County ... you do not have to stand tall, but you do have to stand up," Greber said. Nye County Commissioner Candice Trummell said she'd be happy to have a question on Yucca Mountain placed on the November 2004 ballot. She noted 78.4 percent of Nye County residents in a recent survey were in favor of negotiating with the federal government for benefits on Yucca Mountain. 'By and large the public feels this project is going to happen. There's a long history in Nye County of things that we don't want happening, happening anyway," Trummell said. "My feeling is we should be violently against Yucca Mountain, having attended these meetings, with their presentations and their bungling," resident Sally Devlin added. "You've got to stand up and be counted, not be neutral because this is a devastating project." County Commissioner Patricia Cox said she feels the state's stance opposing the project is a correct one because nobody wants nuclear waste in his or her back yard. But she said the reality is the federal government is only studying Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository. Congressman from the 39 states who want to ship nuclear waste here vastly outnumbers Nevada's two senators. Cox said, "If the county does not step up to the plate and take the responsibility to be constructive and look at how we're going to protect our citizens and their future, you cannot do that while you are constantly fighting against it." Greber said the only way to overcome superior odds is to stand up and fight. "If these canisters are so incredibly safe that they can be dropped 500 feet to the ground and crash and not even open up, why are they not maintained and stored in the canisters in those states that are producing them?" he asked. |
