Senator Dean Heller again committed to continue fighting the Administration’s efforts to restart licensing activities at Yucca Mountain. Heller says “Despite Congress’ refusal to fund the Yucca Mountain project, the Administration is once again prioritizing it. Whether it’s the threat that Yucca Mountain poses to the people of southern Nevada, or its potentially catastrophic effect on our tourism economy, he’s made it clear why Nevada does not want to turn into the nation’s nuclear waste dump. Heller’s Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act, is bipartisan legislation that permits the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to authorize construction of a nuclear waste repository only if the Secretary of Energy has secured written consent from the governor of the host state, affected local governments, and Indian tribes. Heller says “A state without a single nuclear power plant should not have to shoulder the entire nation’s nuclear waste burden.”
His GOP primary opponent, Danny Tarkanian, is heading in another direction. He says Yucca Mountain would create thousands of jobs and bring billions of dollars in revenue to Nevada, spurring a new age of technological innovation in the Silver State and creating a safer and cleaner America. Tarkanian adds, “Dean Heller still refuses to support the Trump administration. With Yucca Mountain, Nevada has the opportunity to become a world leader in the reprocessing of nuclear fuel and eliminate 97% of our country’s nuclear waste.” Democrats call Yucca Mountain a “Colossal waste of funds.” Senator Catherine Cortez masto says 15 billion dollars has already been wasted on a hole in the ground.
Governor Brian Sandoval: “My office did receive notice from the Department of Energy that Yucca Mountain licensing funding would be in the budget, but we continue to disagree on the necessity to invest any money at all on this ill-conceived project. Yucca Mountain is incapable of safely storing the world’s most toxic substance and Nevada will continue to oppose any efforts to dump nuclear waste in our state.
