CARSON CITY -- Nevada's rural counties are not happy with the proposed Mina alternative rail route to Yucca Mountain, and yesterday the director of the Esmeralda County Repository Oversight Program made their stance clear during a session of the Nevada Commission on Nuclear projects here.

Ed Mueller addressed the commission, chaired by Richard H. Bryan, and spoke out on behalf of Esmeralda, Nye, Mineral and Churchill counties and addressed the possible effects of the proposed Mina Rail Corridor alternative to the Caliente route.

"The announcement of the Mina rail alternative spur to serve the proposed Yucca Mountain project was largely unexpected," Mueller said. "Unlike the Caliente rail alternative and its many variations which have been studied for more than 20 years by the Department of Energy, the Mina Rail alternative has not undergone a similar scrutiny."

Mueller added, "Based on recent audits by the DOE Inspector General's office and guidance given by the DOE internal legal counsel, oversight funding has not been used for any type of impact assessment activities related to the Mina route.

"DOE is working under a fairly aggressive schedule to complete its required environmental analysis in time for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission license submittal not later than June 2008. As communities affected by this new proposal, we are working hard to understand the full compliment of potential impacts."

Several routes are detailed in a Bechtel rail corridor study. All originate at the same point and pass through the Walker Indian reservation to the greater Hawthorne area. The proposed rail spur will continue on to the Luning, Mina and Sodaville areas. It will then proceed southwest to Rhodes Salt Marsh, and Redlich Pass, before crossing into Esmeralda County.

The rail spur will proceed to Blair Junction, where a split in the Mina Spur is indicated. The first alternative proposed route will travel southwest across Highway 265 then to Clayton Valley, where it will end in Bonnie Claire Interface. The second possible route will be from Blair Junction southeast, crossing Highways 95 and 6 intersection, to Montezuma Valley, through to Goldfield and once again ending up at the Bonnie Claire switch yard before crossing into Nye County.

From Lida Junction the proposed spur will continue straight on to the Yucca Mountain Project.

Mueller, said in regards to the spur, "If a rail option is selected and ultimately constructed for the proposed Yucca Mountain Project, termination of such a line at the repository would provide limited secondary use." Muller continued, "As a practical matter, the prospects of a single purpose dead-end rail spur to Yucca Mountain only amplifies the negative elements associated with the project and the Mina Rail alternative."

According to the Bechtel study, numerous problems regarding endangered species may be involved in the rail route.

In addition, the Bechtel study says that any dry creek bed, dry lake and or naturally occurring wetlands could be filled in for the proposed rail bed. Multiple springs, groups of springs and or wells are less than a quarter of a mile from the proposed rail spur; some are as close as 500 feet from the rail line.

The study also address several right-of-way issues. One of which will be a 1,000 foot wide to either side of the proposed spur on BLM lands. Right-of-way widths across Native American lands will have to be determined with the Native Nations and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

"If a rail spur is to be built," Mueller said, "DOE needs to thoroughly examine and be open to the concept of shared (common carrier) rail use. Furthermore, a through going rail line to southern main lines, instead of a dead-end spur, can potentially provide some level of offsetting mitigation's to areas most impacted. A through-going rail line has the potential to eliminate waste shipments in the Las Vegas Valley."

In 2005 dollars, for 255 miles of proposed rail, the construction cost at a minimum would run $1,596,255,000, according to the Bechtel study, or for the second rail construction option of 256 miles, $1,585,790,000.

Mueller pointed out the limits of oversight.

"Our (oversight) ability to influence whether or not Yucca Mountain will be built and a rail line constructed is limited to non-existent. We do, however, have the responsibility to ensure transportation occurs in a safe manner and that the transportation mode has the potential to serve our respective county interests."

The study further cites a number of prehistoric sites in the Tonopah area, some which are eligible or potentially eligible for inclusion in the National Registry of Historical Places.

In addition, Steward's Western Shoshone Village, at the south edge of Oasis Mountain, the Beatty Wash Petroglyphs, and Black Cone, which has been identified on visits by ethnographers and Native Americans as a place of religious significance or power, could potentially be affected.

The Mina corridor passes near known historic graves including a Chinese grave and the historic cemetery at Millers town site.

"Historically," Mueller said, "Nevada's rural communities have shouldered the burden for the Department of Energy's activities while the positive elements have largely accrued to Nevada's urban communities. This appears to be the case with the Yucca Mountain project with the site being planned for Nye County, and Nevada's rural communities slated for the waste shipment routes.

"Until such time as the Nuclear Waste Policy Act is rescinded or the money stops flowing, Yucca Mountain is not going away. As rural counties potentially affected by an uncertain outcome, we will continue to pursue activities and outcomes that contribute to the health, safety and well being of our citizens with regard to this issue until it is resolved one way or another. To do any different would be irresponsible."

Anyone wishing to contact the Commission on Nuclear Projects for further information may email nwpo@nuc.state.nv.us or call (775)-687-3744.