CARSON CITY -- Assemblyman Ty Cobb, R-Reno, has submitted resolution language asking Nevada's agencies and commissions to begin a dialogue with the federal government on the proposed nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain.

The resolution calls for a factual discussion between the federal government and Nevada's leaders regarding Yucca.

"It's time to put away the rhetoric and start dealing with facts," said Cobb. "Nevada needs to take a fact-based approach to the issue. We need first and foremost to ensure the project is safe and that the state plays an active role in any licensing process to protect the public health, safety, and environment.

"Equally importantly, we need to reorient the Yucca project in a manner that takes advantage of new technology to fundamentally change the concept of storage."

Cobb's proposal would refocus Yucca away from its stated purpose of serving as a long-term waste repository. Instead, he believes that Yucca should be seen as an interim storage site with the government and nuclear industry reprocessing the waste, thus eliminating as much as 90 percent of the material.

Yucca would also serve as the site for advanced research and development on energy issues: a high-tech center that would employ hundreds of scientists and technology experts.

Between constructing and operating both the facility and the required transportation systems, thousands of short-term and long-term jobs would be created. This project could bring billions of dollars in grants, investment, and ancillary projects. Nevada could be at the forefront of energy research as part of this project with the creation of a National Center for Advanced Reactor Recycling and Advanced Fuels.

Continued Cobb, "Nuclear recycling research and development has the potential to create countless high-tech jobs for Nevada and could help create new energy options eliminating our heavy reliance on fossil fuels, including new nuclear plants to provide energy to southern Nevada. For all the talk about economic stimulus, we need to explore all the possibilities in a genuine, fact-based manner."

Cobb's resolution directs the Nuclear Projects Office to officially request an offer from the U.S. Department of Energy that includes ironclad guarantees of safety, infrastructure improvements, energy advances and annual compensation.

"For far too long Nevada has taken an adversarial role to this project, often without a clear understanding of its potential benefits. In today's economy, with our growing energy demands and shrinking payrolls it's long past time we engage in this discussion."