By STEVE TETREAULT
Stephens Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Air Force confirmed Thursday it is negotiating air space rights over Yucca Mountain to balance pilot access to the Nellis Test and Training Range and security at the nuclear waste site that has been proposed nearby.

As part of its plan to build a repository for highly radioactive used nuclear fuel, the Department of Energy has proposed to control use of 229 square miles of land now managed by other federal agencies surrounding the Yucca site.

The department also is seeking to designate a "no fly zone" as part of the project. Ward Sproat, director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, told Congress last week the restricted flight area would have a four-mile radius centered on the mountain.

In a statement Thursday, the Air Force confirmed its officials and DOE counterparts are negotiating flight rules over the repository.

"Air Force and DOE representatives in Nevada continue to discuss potential control measures to accommodate both agencies' missions," the service said in a statement issued in response to a reporter's query.

Negotiators "are still working together to refine mutually acceptable control measures to limit or preclude any operational impact on Air Force flying missions in the Nevada Test and Training Range.

"We remain optimistic agreement will be reached such that any control measures will have no appreciable impact on Air Force operations," the statement said.

The Air Force's willingness to talk about flight controls near Yucca Mountain appears to represent a shift in thinking. In September 2003, top Air Force officials said restrictions on aircraft operating in test range airspace "will negatively impact our readiness activities."

"Overflight restrictions are untenable," Air Force Secretary James G. Roche and Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper said in a letter to congressional leaders. They described the Nellis training range as a "national treasure" that enables the military to practice large-scale operations.

Talks are being held in the state between DOE representatives in Las Vegas and Air Force liaison officers at the Nevada Test Site, officials said.

"They are our neighbors and we will be working with them on air restrictions, there is nothing wrong with that at all," DOE spokesman William Greene said of the Air Force.

The Air Force controls 3.1 million acres and 12,000 square miles of airspace over southern and central Nevada that it uses for testing and munitions training, electronic combat, and air-to-air combat exercises. Flight programs are operated from Nellis Air Force Base.

Nevada officials who oppose the Yucca project have criticized the idea of allowing DOE to set flight rules on the Air Force. At a Senate hearing last week, Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said it set "a very dangerous precedent."

The Energy Department is seeking to restrict flights near the repository to buttress its licensing bid before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects.

As part of its licensing process, DOE has studied the probabilities and potential outcomes of plane crashes at the Yucca site, where canisters of highly radioactive material will be kept above ground as well as within a warren of mountain tunnels.

"The NRC wants some definitive proof they have this issue covered," Loux said. "If they have a no fly zone or whatever, that is all related to satisfying the NRC."

Loux said he expected prolonged talks between DOE and the Air Force. There is sentiment among officers at Nellis Air Force Base against Yucca flight restrictions, he said, based on conversations between officers and state representatives.

"I think (the Air Force) will postpone and procrastinate (about) anything substantial," Loux said. "If there is any discussion, it seems to me it is going on at lower levels."