MINUTES OF THE
SENATE Committee on Transportation
Seventy-second Session
March 18, 2003
The Senate Committee on Transportation was called to order by Chairman Raymond C. Shaffer, at 1:36 p.m., on Tuesday, March 18, 2003, in Room 2149 of the Legislative Building, Carson City, Nevada. The meeting was videoconferenced to the Grant Sawyer State Office Building, Room 4412, 555 East Washington Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada. Exhibit A is the Agenda. Exhibit B is the Attendance Roster. All exhibits are available and on file at the Research Library of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
Senator Raymond C. Shaffer, Chairman
Senator Dennis Nolan, Vice Chairman
Senator Mark E. Amodei
Senator Warren B. Hardy II
Senator Michael Schneider
Senator Terry Care
COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT:
Senator Maggie Carlton (Excused)
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:
Marsheilah Lyons, Committee Policy Analyst
Lee-Ann Keever, Committee Secretary
OTHERS PRESENT:
Robert R. Loux, Executive Director, Agency for Nuclear Projects, Office of the Governor
Marta Adams, Senior Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General
Judie Booe, Chairman, Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Citizen Public Outreach Committee
Denise Kelly, Vice President, Nevada Alliance for Retired Persons
Peggy Maze Johnson, Executive Director, Citizen Alert
Calvin Meyers, Environmental Coordinator, Moapa Band of Paiutes
Kalynda Tilges, Executive Director, Shundahai Network
Irene Navis, Planning Manager, Department of Comprehensive Planning, Clark County, Nuclear Waste Division
Robert R. Loux, Executive Director, Agency for Nuclear Projects (ANP), Office of the Governor, discussed the implications of transporting nuclear waste and referred to his handout on the subject (Exhibit C). The handout contained information on the projected inventory, federal funds appropriated to provide training to first responders, and maps of routes used to transport low-level nuclear waste.
Mr. Loux said the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) would not transport low-level nuclear waste through the Las Vegas Spaghetti Bowl interchange (LVSB) or across Hoover Dam. The DOE provided quarterly reports on low-level transport in Nevada to Mr. Loux’ office. The majority of shipments were not routed through the LVSB or across Hoover Dam.
Mr. Loux’ office had been involved in the planning and preparation of radioactive materials and waste for the past 15 years. Mr. Loux’ office worked with the Western Governors’ Association and the Western Interstate Energy Board on the shipment of special waste materials to Carlsbad, New Mexico. The DOE and the western states had reached an agreement and developed a series of protocols relating to the shipping of nuclear waste.
Mr. Loux said once the Waste Isolation Pilot Plan (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico began receiving shipments of nuclear waste, the DOE vacated and violated previous transportation agreements it had reached with western states. The DOE indicated those agreements had been vacated due to budget shortfalls. Mr. Loux said he was concerned the same situation might arise at the Yucca Mountain facility (YMF) should it be licensed and commence receiving shipments of low- and high-level nuclear waste.
Senator Nolan stated he had received a copy of a letter written by the mayor of Carlsbad, New Mexico. The letter substantiated Mr. Loux’ presentation to the Senate Committee on Transportation regarding DOE’s broken promises. The Senator said the mayor’s perspective on the treatment his town received from the DOE differed from the way Nevada had been treated by the DOE.
Mr. Loux said it appeared the mayor was taking credit for events which would have transpired without his involvement. Mr. Loux stated the congressional delegation from New Mexico secured federal funds for WIPP, yet the mayor took credit for securing the funding. The mayor also indicated he was responsible for the federal funding which created the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico. Mr. Loux stated both facilities had been in existence for a number of years prior to the mayor’s election. The mayor’s letter contained other discrepancies. Mr. Loux thought it possible the mayor was employed by Westinghouse, one of the WIPP contractors. If so, as a Westinghouse employee, the mayor would have to favorably promote WIPP to other local governments. However, Mr. Loux had been unable to verify the mayor’s employment status. Mr. Loux said he thought the mayor’s letter was disingenuous.
Mr. Loux stated the DOE had issued an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the YMF. Mr. Loux said he thought the EIS was legally and substantially deficient as well as inadequate. He said the attorney general’s office would provide further information on the EIS after his presentation to the committee members.
Mr. Loux stated the DOE should prepare an EIS committed to an integrated transportation program covering transportation both locally and nationally. It appeared the DOE was approaching transportation issues on a piecemeal basis and crafting information to fit whatever audience the DOE was addressing at the time.
Mr. Loux’ office had made specific transportation recommendations to the federal government for the past 2 decades. It was the belief of Mr. Loux’ office that few, if any, of those recommendations had been followed. Mr. Loux said his office had focused on four areas of high-level nuclear waste management since 1997: 1) a comprehensive approach to risk management, assessment, and communication; 2) the development of a preferred transportation system with an emphasis on national routes; 3) the full-scale testing of shipping casks as a matter of certification by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); and, 4) implementation of a comprehensive accident prevention and emergency response program.
Mr. Loux said there were approximately 16 shipping cask designs certified by the NRC. The casks had undergone computer-simulated modeling tests, but not full-scale or physical testing.
The chairman of the NRC indicated at a congressional hearing that it would commence a full-scale testing program for demonstration purposes. Mr. Loux said his office told the NRC that testing for demonstration purposes would not be acceptable. Instead, Mr. Loux requested a full-scale testing program in which every cask design would be subjected to full-scale testing as part of the certification process.
Mr. Loux stated the cask-testing program had to include a meaningful stakeholder role in the development of test protocols, and selection of test facilities, and personnel. Full-scale testing of the casks had to be part of the certification process and completed prior to certification. Mr. Loux said he wanted computer simulations to determine performance and failure thresholds. He also wanted costs of the benefits of destructive testing evaluated. Casks would be randomly selected for destruction. The destruction would provide information on the performance and failure thresholds.
The NRC prepared a draft document containing Regulation 1768, which the ANP was reviewing. The ANP would be commenting on Regulation 1768 and would follow Mr. Loux’ presentation to the committee members.
Mr. Loux stated the NRC was conducting a series of round table discussions around the country to receive input on the cask testing issue. Mr. Loux reviewed the meeting locations, adding full-scale cask testing had been supported at all the meetings. Mr. Loux said every state had supported full‑scale cask testing.
Senator Nolan asked about the Scandia films. He said he had the impression from the films, the cask recommended for transportation purposes had undergone full-scale testing. He asked if other casks were accepted for transport.
Mr. Loux said none of the casks certified for use by the NRC had undergone physical testing. The casks had undergone some scale model testing and computer simulation. Mr. Loux referenced the Scandia films, and noted the tests in the films were not physical tests. None of the scenarios, including locomotive testing, were part of the NRC’s required testing sequence. The NRC had a series of sequential tests a cask had to complete prior to certification. The tests included a puncture, a drop unto an unyielding surface, fire, and submersion in water.
Mr. Loux said the Sandia films had been panned as inappropriate and not accurate relative to the physical characteristics of the casks. The casks failed two of the five tests shown in the films. All other tests were conducted for public relations purposes only. The National Safety Transportation Board said it was inappropriate and wrong for the Sandia films to be portrayed as a demonstration of cask safety.
Mr. Loux said the DOE estimated the YMF would receive 175 shipments of low‑ and high-level nuclear waste per year. Nevada officials believed the figure to be inaccurate as 90 percent of all spent fuel would have to be shipped by rail. To ship by rail, the following criteria would have to followed: 1) assure each shipment was comprised of three railcars per train; 2) generate thousands of shipments using barges or heavy-haul trucks to move spent fuel from nuclear generating sites without rail access to railheads; 3) create staging areas in the rail yards and shipping ports; and, 4) construct a 300 to 400 mile rail line in Nevada. These additional shipping transactions were not reflected in the DOE’s shipping estimates.
The ANP reached some conclusions about the DOE’s shipping estimates. If the DOE were to use the mostly truck shipping scenario, it would result in 108,000 shipments of spent nuclear waste over 38 years or 2800 shipments per year. If the DOE were to use the mostly rail scenario, it would result in 13,000 to 45,000 shipments per year over 38 years. Mr. Loux said both shipping scenarios depended on outside logistics of transporting the shipments to railheads.
Mr. Loux stated the truck scenario was the most feasible because all 72 power plants and DOE sites shipping to the YMF were accessible by legal weight trucks. The YMF had no rail access, and construction of a new rail line into the facility would take 10 years and cost more than $1 billion to construct. The new rail line would be 99 to 345 miles in length.
An alternative to rail transport would be the use of extremely long, heavy‑haul trucks over distances of 112 to 330 miles on public highways. Mr. Loux said that option was not feasible, as the U.S. Department of Transportation would have to permit each truck shipment on an individual basis. Mr. Loux stated that maximum utilization of rail for cross-country transportation described in the DOE’s environmental impact statement was unlikely. The goal of shipping 90 percent of all spent fuel was unrealistic, because 25 of the 72 power plants shipping to the YMF could not ship by rail. The ANP thought it likely one‑third of the power plants could not ship by rail. The DOE would have to ship thousands of shipments by barge to East Coast ports and then transport shipments by heavy‑haul trucks to rail yards. Mr. Loux reiterated special state permits and routing approvals would be required from each state a heavy-haul truck shipment went through.
Mr. Loux said even if rail shipping were viable, no more than 75 percent of all commercially generated spent fuel could be shipped by rail. The balance would be shipped via legal weight trucks. The ANP was skeptical of DOE’s ability to construct a rail line to the YMF as the time and cost of a rail line would exceed the time and cost required to construct the YMF. Rail shipping would be affected by shipping capabilities of the generating power plants. The DOE’s figures were based upon the assumption the rail lines were in place and capable of transporting spent nuclear fuel. The DOE had not taken the barge and heavy‑haul truck shipments to railheads into consideration.
Mr. Loux said the DOE had not considered the commingling of spent nuclear fuel with other items to be shipped by rail. The State, the nuclear industry, and the Association of American Railroads wanted dedicated trains to carry spent nuclear fuel, while DOE wanted mixed freight shipments. To date, DOE had resisted dedicated trains for the shipping of low- or high-level nuclear waste.
Mr. Loux stated the DOE had suggested an application for the operation of the YMF would not be submitted to the NRC until 2005. Based on budget considerations, the secretary of energy felt the December 2004 submission date was not feasible, and would be postponed for at least a year. To meet the 2005 submittal deadline for license application, DOE would need to have all documents intended for using in the licensing proceedings on an electronic licensing support system. The documents would have to be on the system at least 6 months prior to the application submission.
The NRC created the electronic licensing support system as it wanted the licensing application hearing on an electronic rather than hard copy basis. To comply with requirements of the NRC’s electronic licensing support system, the DOE would need to have 2.5 million documents on the system 6 months prior to submitting its license application. The ANP did not think it likely the DOE could comply with the NRC’s deadline until late 2005 or early 2006.
Mr. Loux said the DOE also had in excess of 200 study issues which the NRC required be completed prior to the DOE submitting a license application. The YMF did not have water on-site, and some study issues required the YMF to have water.
Mr. Loux stated the NRC had indicated the license application hearing would be 3 to 4 years in length. Mr. Loux said the hearings on a recently completed surface storage facility in Utah had taken 5 years to complete. Many entities, including the U.S. General Accounting Office, thought shipments would not begin until 2015 to 2020.
Mr. Loux said he thought it was premature to concentrate on the transportation issues connected with nuclear waste. The reason for this being it would be at least 10 years, or 5 Legislative Sessions, before the State needed to worry about the transportation of such waste.
Mr. Loux stated the ANP and the Governor’s Office were working diligently to analyze DOE’s transportation scenario as it affected Nevada. The ANP was working with the NRC on cask certification and with other regional organizations affected by the transport of nuclear waste. Mr. Loux said his office was keeping on top of the issues. It was doing the appropriate planning on nuclear waste‑related issues which might have to be addressed by the State in the future.
Senator Nolan said he was concerned there would be issues other than transportation which the committee members needed to consider. He said the YMF might be a terrorist target. He said in the past Nevada had taken an adversarial position with past presidential administrations over the YMF.
Senator Nolan said the State was engaged in litigation to prevent the DOE from locating nuclear waste at the YMF in Nevada. He asked Mr. Loux about the consequences should Nevada fail to prevail in court. Mr. Loux said while he liked to believe Nevada was an impediment to DOE’s effort to locate nuclear waste at the YMF in Nevada, DOE was actually its own biggest impediment. If Nevada was unsuccessful in its litigation, the earliest the DOE would be able to open the YMF would be the 2112 to 2115 time frame. The DOE failed to meet all scheduled deadlines for the YMF and often missed the deadlines by years, not months. He said the YMF was supposed to be operational by 1998. It was not close to being operational.
Regarding terrorism, Mr. Loux said the secretary of energy believed it was safer to have the spent nuclear fuel centrally located at the YMF instead of distributed around the country. The nuclear industry generates 2000 metric tons yearly. Based on that figure, the secretary recently admitted, even if the YMF was operational and/or full, there would still be in excess of 60,000 metric tons of spent waste at the nuclear power plants which could not be stored at the YMF.
Mr. Loux said recent studies indicated dry storage at the nuclear power plants was as safe as the YMF for 200 years or more. Therefore, national security could not be used as a favorable argument for the YMF. Mr. Loux said photographs existed showing the shipping casks were easily penetrated by rockets.
Mr. Loux said the DOE required a 5000 metric ton cooling or blending pool at the YMF. The pool would be used to store hot spent nuclear fuel. During the facility’s lifetime there would be a large volume of spent fuel both in the pool and freestanding by the pool. This fuel would pose security risks. Mr. Loux said the nuclear power plants had built-in safeguards which were not available at the YMF.
Marta Adams, Senior Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, read from prepared text (Exhibit D) which detailed the status of the State’s pending litigation against the DOE. She said Nevada’s challenge to the DOE’s environmental impact statement for the YMF was the State’s primary case, and addressed transportation issues. Ms. Adams said the majority of the cases, filed by the State in opposition to the YMF, would be heard in tandem in September 2003. The State expected the court to issue favorable decisions in the near future.
The Honorable Roger L. Hunt, Judge, U.S. District Court, District of Nevada, in Las Vegas, had recently handed down a ruling in Nevada’s favor. The ruling addressed the State providing water to the YMF. Chairman Shaffer asked for and received further information from Ms. Adams regarding Judge Hunt’s ruling. She said in 2000, former State Engineer Michael Turnipseed, P.E., denied the DOE’s application for the permanent appropriation of 430 acre-feet of water. The water was required to operate the YMF. Mr. Turnipseed’s decision was based on a statute. The State has been in both federal and state court since Mr. Turnipseed issued his decision.
Judge Hunt granted Nevada a stay of the litigation to the extent the water case involved issues currently part of other litigation. Judge Hunt remanded the public interest portion of Mr. Turnipseed’s hearing back to the State engineer’s office to develop findings independent of Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 459.910 which prohibited the storage of nuclear waste in Nevada. Judge Hunt’s decision affirmed the State’s right to regulate water. Ms. Adams said her office was very encouraged by Judge Hunt’s decision.
Senator Care asked if Nevada’s lawsuits would be consolidated and heard before the U.S. Court of Appeals. Ms. Adams said some of the cases would be consolidated, while the remainder would be heard within a week’s time of each other. Ms. Adams was unable to give Senator Care a definite time when the court would rule on Nevada’s lawsuits. However, Ms. Adams anticipated the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, District of Nevada would rule for Nevada by the latter part of 2003 or early 2004.
Senator Care asked if any party to the lawsuit would be able to appeal Judge Hunt’s order. Ms. Adams said while her office had not completely analyzed Judge Hunt’s ruling, it felt the order could not be appealed. The DOE could pursue some post-decision options in an attempt to avoid the remand hearing in front of the State engineer.
Senator Care said Nevada’s lawsuits relating to the YMF were unique. He asked if it would be possible the Supreme Court of the United States would hear those lawsuits due to their uniqueness. Ms. Marta said her office anticipated some of Nevada’s YMF lawsuits would be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Senator Care asked how much money had been expended in the State’s legal battle to prevent the federal government from constructing the YMF. He said during the 2001 Legislative Session, the legislature had allotted $4 million for the State’s legal fees. The money was deposited in the Nevada Protection Fund (NPF).
Ms. Adams stated there was sufficient money in the NPF to pay the legal fees until fall 2003. Mr. Loux added the fund had a balance of $1.6 to $1.9 million left from the original allocation of $4 million. Mr. Loux said the money was being carefully managed. The Executive Budget contained an appropriation of $2 million in the attorney general’s budget for YMF litigation.
Senator Care asked if the State’s lawyers were considering legal grounds for additional lawsuits in 2005 and 2006. Mr. Loux said his office and the attorney general’s office believed they had covered all pertinent legal points. He stated if the State’s position was correct in any of the cases pending before the different courts, the YMF would not be constructed.
Mr. Loux said the federal government would have to prevail over Nevada in every lawsuit to move forward. Nevada would appeal any unfavorable ruling handed down to the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Loux said the State had absorbed 80 to 90 percent of all legal costs associated with defending the State’s position. Accordingly, the cost of additional lawsuits would be minimal as most of the research would have been completed and the legal briefs already written.
Senator Care asked if the federal government prevailed over Nevada in court, would it have the legal grounds to take an adversarial position and refuse to cooperate with the State in providing employment and other benefits to the citizens of Nevada.
Mr. Loux said it was possible the federal government would be vengeful should it prevail over the State. The State would always be hat-in-hand to the federal government. He stated agreements made by one session of the U.S. Congress were not binding upon subsequent congressional sessions. Nevada would have to rely upon the U.S. Congress’ largesse or its own congressional delegation for financial appropriations.
Mr. Loux said he thought if other states were placed in Nevada’s position regarding the YMF, they would pursue litigation to protect their citizens. During earlier hearings, the DOE admitted on the record its employees had violated the rules concerning the construction of the YMF.
Mr. Loux stated even if the federal government were to prevail, it would still need a license to construct the YMF. The NRC would grant the operating license. At the licensing hearings, Nevada would present evidence to the NRC which showed the site was unsuitable for a nuclear waste repository and should not be licensed. Mr. Loux said if the NRC licensed the YMF, and the State believed the license was granted improperly, it would pursue additional litigation in federal court.
Senator Care asked whether the State and the federal government would be discussing contingency plans. Mr. Loux referred to a 1980 Attorney General’s Opinion, which stated such discussions implied the legal consent of the parties to negotiate for an outcome, and would be detrimental to the State’s ability to litigate its cases. Nevada still had dialogue with the agencies involved in the litigation; however, not in the manner suggested by Senator Care. The DOE would have to prove safety and health issues. Until the DOE did so, it would be inappropriate for Nevada to engage in negotiations with the federal government.
Judi Booe, Chairman, Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Citizen Public Outreach Committee, read from prepared text (Exhibit E). Chairman Shaffer asked how many people were members of the committee. Ms. Booe told him there were five members. The committee was a subcommittee of the Yucca Mountain Advisory Committee and Clark County Commissioners appointed members.
Denise Kelly, Vice President, Nevada Alliance for Retired Americans, said she had worked for the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) at the feed materials plant in Vernal. The employees were required to tour the plant to learn how uranium was processed. At the end of the tour, employees were handed a radioactive rod so they could feel how much uranium weighed. The Ohio plant was deactivated. During the deactivation process, it was learned the plant had purged 700 pounds of uranium a month into the water and air surrounding the plant. Ms. Kelly said in 1985, she was part of a successful class action suit against the AEC and its successor agency, the NRC.
Ms. Kelly stated she was dedicated to exposing AEC lies and omissions. The DOE was treating Nevada in the same fashion the AEC had treated its employees. She asked the committee members to fight the DOE and not enter into negotiations. Ms. Kelly read from prepared text (Exhibit F).
Chairman Shaffer asked if Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force, Incorporated representatives were present. Mr. Loux said there were no representatives present. He said a handout from the organization had been distributed to the committee members (Exhibit G).
Peggy Maze Johnson, Executive Director, Citizen Alert, said her organization was founded in 1975 to protest nuclear waste being brought into Nevada. One of Citizen Alert’s priorities was preventing nuclear waste from being shipped into Nevada. Ms. Johnson urged all elected officials in Nevada to fight the transport of nuclear waste into the State. Ms. Johnson said Citizen Alert wanted full-scale cask testing. Ms. Johnson thanked the committee members for conducting a public hearing on the YMF. She said the Senate Committee on Transportation’s February 28, 2003 meeting disturbed her because only the federal government made presentations at the meeting. She said she was gratified the committee members allowed the antinuclear waste organizations an opportunity to present their point of view.
Calvin Meyers, Environmental Coordinator, Moapa band of Paiutes, said the DOE had not been truthful when dealing with his and other tribes. The proposed route for the YMF was only 1 mile away from Mr. Meyers’ house. Both the railroad and Interstate-15 went across the Moapa Indian Reservation. The main source of income for the Moapa band of Paiutes was generated by the sale of fireworks. The railroad and Interstate-15 intersected on the reservation where the fireworks were sold. Mr. Meyers said if a nuclear incident occurred, people would not come to the reservation to purchase fireworks. This would result in a loss of income for the Moapa band of Paiutes. Mr. Meyers thanked the Agency for Nuclear Projects for helping his tribe locate funding and learning the truth. Mr. Meyers said he keeps his tribe informed of what was happening with the YMF.
Mr. Myers stated the Moapa band of Paiutes was concerned with preserving the spirituality of their people. The land is important to the tribe and would be destroyed if nuclear waste were transported across it. He said the creatures on the land were part of the Moapa band of Paiutes’ culture. The plants had traditional, cultural uses by the tribal members. The Moapa band of Paiutes would not be able to use plants from other locations in their traditional ceremonies. Imported plants might have a different use or meaning than the indigenous plants used by the tribe. Mr. Meyers told the committee members to look at the transportation issues connected with the YMF with their hearts. Their hearts would not let them down but science would.
Kalynda Tilges, Executive Director, Shundahai Network, said her organization opposed the YMF, worked to promote environmental justice, and supported the rights of the indigenous people. Ms. Tilges said she attended the Senate Committee on Transportation’s February 28, 2003 meeting, and noted the DOE presented another version of its plans for the YMF. Ms. Tilges supported Mr. Loux’ testimony concerning the DOE’s misrepresentation of facts.
Ms. Tilges stated she attended a DOE meeting in Washington D.C., where she was told transportation issues concerning the shipment of nuclear waste would not be considered until shipping commenced. The reason for this was infrastructures and population might change over time.
Ms. Tilges said the YMF would be the first of its kind in the world. The rest of the world was looking to the United States to see how it would handle the YMF. Ms. Tilges stated the discussion of transportation issues was premature as the State had an excellent chance of prevailing in its litigation.
Ms. Tilges said a private fuel storage facility in Utah had been denied licensing due to the proximity of Hill Air Force Base and F-16 flyovers from the base. She said Nellis Air Force Base (NAFB) in Clark County presented the same danger to the YMF. Ms. Tilges was concerned the federal government might construe the approval of transportation routes for the shipping of nuclear waste as an indication the State was giving up its fight against the YMF.
Ms. Tilges said she wanted to know who would pay for the proposed transportation routes. The State was not in a good financial position, and the federal government was faced with paying $100 billion to fund the war in Iraq. Ms. Tilges stated the NAFB had informed the DOE it would not permit the construction of a rail spur through the base to the YMF. The construction of a rail spur around the NAFB to the YMF would be costly and devastating to both ranchers and open spaces.
Ms. Tilges stated the ownership of the land was also in dispute. The DOE’s title to the property was clouded due to claims made by the Western Shoshone Tribe. The licensing requirements mandated a clear title to the property before the YMF could be licensed. Due to claims made by the Western Shoshone Tribe regarding the land on which the YMF would be constructed, the DOE would not be able to show clear title. The Western Shoshone Tribe indicated if the matter were resolved in their favor, they would not evict any Nevadans residing on the disputed property. The Western Shoshone Tribe had not given the DOE permission to contaminate their land or evict them from their own property.
Ms. Tilges said the drivers, not the DOE, decide the final routes of all nuclear waste shipments. She stated the DOE had no final repository design for the YMF. The final repository design would decide which cask design would be used for the transport of nuclear waste into Nevada.
Senator Shaffer asked Ms. Tilges to limit her comments to transportation-related issues. Ms. Tilges said her previous statements were important to transportation in Nevada. The final cask and repository design would impact transportation issues in Nevada. Ms. Tilges stated it was premature to discuss transportation issues because the DOE does not know how the nuclear waste would be shipped.
Ms. Tilges outlined the licensing process for the YMF. The DOE must obtain a license to build the repository, and it would have to obtain a license to operate the repository. The NRC has been unable to demonstrate the casks are safe for the transport of spent nuclear waste and would face additional lawsuits. Ms. Tilges said the State’s efforts should be directed toward stopping the construction of the YMF.
Ms. Tilges referred to Senator Care’s question about the federal government seeking retaliatory measures against the State should it prevail in the pending litigation. She said, based on the Senator’s question, it was apparent he realized the DOE could not be trusted. Ms. Tilges asked about further action the Senate Committee on Transportation would take regarding the YMF. Chairman Shaffer told her the committee would gather additional information. It had no intent of operating outside the transportation parameters of the YMF.
Irene Navis, Planning Manager, Department of Comprehensive Planning, Clark County, Nuclear Waste Division, said the Clark County Commission (CCC) had opposed the YMF since 1987. The CCC’s opposition had been demonstrated through a series of resolutions, and its status as a party to the State’s litigation opposing the YMF. The CCC contributed $2.5 million to the Nevada Protection Fund to help finance the State’s pending litigation filed in opposition to the YMF.
Ms. Navis stated Clark County had taken the position the costs and impacts related to transportation and public safety issues would equal the largest unfounded mandate in Nevada’s history. Ms. Navis said Clark County had sponsored a resolution encouraging the DOE to engage in a comprehensive, national transportation plan, and full-scale cask testing. The resolution was submitted to the National Association of Counties and was endorsed by its membership.
There being no further business, Chairman Shaffer adjourned the Senate Committee on Transportation at 3:00 p.m.
Lee-Ann Keever,
Committee Secretary
APPROVED BY:
Senator Raymond C. Shaffer, Chairman
DATE: