USNEF Response to Heller, Reid proposal on Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act

(USNEF) – Senator Reid’s recent proposed bill continues to show he is out of step with the times and out of step with Nevada’s grassroots public. For almost three decades, he would rather play politics with nuclear waste disposal than focus on the science. Nevadans appreciate that we now have members of our Congressional delegation in Washington like Congressmen Hardy and Amodei who would rather engage and understand the science and technology and assure  Nevada a seat at the table rather than Harry Reid’s same old “let’s stick our head in the sand” approach, this is not a resolution to a national issue.

Nevada and our citizens should seek to understand the science and technology associated with Yucca Mountain and use that understanding as a platform to negotiate for an economic asset for our citizens. Continuing to ignore the law and the science is not in the best interests of Nevada and we are thankful that some of our newest Members of Congress understand that and are willing to participate in the dialogue.

Any such consent act should only be negotiated after the “host state” establishes and conducts a public referendum vote through the complete legislative public process. Many state governments, as with federal government and its agencies are running via their OWN commission and NOT the “will of the People”.

The Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act, if considered, intends that Nevada, or any other state, has a meaningful voice in the process. The only guarantee for this process to reflect the “will of the people” is through a statewide public referendum. This would provide a public educational platform for both sides of the issue for assessment.

The Heller, Reid press release makes reference to the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future. This was an exercise in futility orchestrated by Senator Reid via the current administration. The directive of the Presidents declaration for this commission forbade the consideration of the Yucca Mountain facility to be included within the commission study. Thus, the commission did not consider all possible variables for the study. Secondly, this commission concluded that one of the major factors for siting was to establish a “community friendly” site location. Without any such state bringing the nuclear waste storage “issue” to its public through a referendum, once again, the “will of the people” is not measured.

USNEF is a non-profit Nevada Corporation educating grassroots Nevada about nuclear energy technology and the Yucca Mountain Project. To know more about USNEF, visit www.usnuclearenergy.org.