Nevada Loses Nuclear Waste Grant
Sep 23 - Las Vegas Review - Journal
By STEVE TETREAULT
WASHINGTON -- Nevada has been turned down for a $13.75 million nuclear waste
grant, potentially threatening the state's legal and science campaigns against
the Yucca Mountain Project, an official said Tuesday.
After learning the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had rejected the
application, the state's nuclear waste manager said he may seek $1 million in
supplemental funds from the state Board of Examiners and the Legislature later
this year to stay afloat.
"I guess we're going to sit tight and see what happens, and then make a
decision whether to go to the Legislature or not," said Bob Loux, executive
director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects.
"We can limp along here for now," Loux said. "We're probably
OK until November or December."
Loux said the impact is difficult to measure because the Energy Department
also is facing uncertainties due to a budget impasse in Congress and a legal
ruling this summer that invalidated a key radiation safety standard.
DOE delays on the Yucca project could buy time for the state until Congress
acts or federal courts hear a pending lawsuit that seeks additional government
funding, Loux said.
The state already had instructed contract scientists to slow their work.
Additionally, Loux said Clark County may be asked to contribute about
$150,000 for ongoing research on projects involving waste container corrosion
and possible volcano impacts at the repository site.
The financial setback comes when the state needs additional money the most.
It has increased spending on lawyers, technical experts and research to prepare
for Yucca Mountain license hearings before the NRC.
State officials had projected they would spend about $10 million a year for
the next four years or more to mount an aggressive challenge.
The state recently renewed a $6 million contract with Egan, Fitzpatrick,
Malsch & Cynkar, of McLean, Va., to represent the state during Yucca
licensing, an amount that also funds major technical consultants.
To finance its repository research, Nevada has relied on an appropriation
from Congress each year. But lawmakers allocated only $1 million for 2004, about
80 percent less than the state requested.
No money has yet been set aside for 2005.
The NRC turned down Nevada's grant request in a 43-page opinion issued
Thursday that was received by the state Tuesday.
The agency said federal laws restricted its ability to give Nevada the money
it sought. Even if the request could be honored, the grant would have forced
cutbacks in other programs, it said.
Nevada Attorney General Brian Sandoval sued the Energy Department on March 17
for more government funding. That case is scheduled to be heard by a federal
judge panel in Washington on Jan. 10.