Wednesday, August 13, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Firm fighting Yucca adds Utah as client
State opposes Goshute spent fuel complex
By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- The law firm Nevada hired to challenge the Yucca Mountain Project has signed on also to fight nuclear waste storage proposed within Utah.
Egan, Fitzpatrick and Malsch of McLean, Va., has added the state of Utah as a client. The firm expects to focus on a key segment of the state's case against a private spent fuel complex planned for the Goshute Indian reservation 75 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.
Law firm chairman Joe Egan said the firm will report on possible health and safety outcomes if a military aircraft from nearby Hill Air Force Base were to crash at the site.
The issue has emerged as a potential show-stopper to the 40,000-ton above-ground storage project proposed by the Goshutes and Private Fuel Storage, an eight-utility consortium.
"We are helping (Utah) in evaluating the consequences of an airplane crash into a spent fuel storage cask or a spent fuel storage facility," Egan said, describing the task as "very focused."
Egan said he requested consent from Nevada officials before accepting the Utah contract although he was not required to do so.
"I wanted to make sure they don't have a problem with it," Egan said.
Bob Loux, director of Nevada's Agency for Nuclear Projects, said he approved of the firm taking on Utah work. He said Nevada's contract with the firm restricts the it from doing business with the Energy Department and its contractors but contains no other conditions for clients.
"One of the rationales for my decision to go ahead is that the issue (Egan) is working for Utah is an issue that would come front and center in any Yucca Mountain proceeding," Loux said. "It's a way to get a leg up on the issue."
Nevada officials believe the military aircraft issue may prove resonant in Yucca Mountain licensing as it has in the Utah case. Energy Department officials say there are important differences between the two.
For now, the DOE is continuing to analyze the chances that aircraft flying maneuvers from Nellis Air Force Base might crash into the Yucca repository 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
A federal appeals court has set an Oct. 3 date to hear Yucca Mountain lawsuits.
