Wednesday, December 24, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
YUCCA MOUNTAIN: DOE maps rail route for waste
Nevada lawmakers criticize plan to develop a 319-mile corridor
By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Plans to transport highly radioactive nuclear waste within Nevada began to take shape Tuesday when the Energy Department proposed to develop a 319-mile railroad corridor to Yucca Mountain.
Trains carrying spent nuclear fuel canisters from power plants in 39 states would travel from a Union Pacific Railroad site near Caliente along new tracks west. The route would cross the high desert and at least four mountain ranges in what some say would be the most ambitious rail construction project since World War II.
The Energy Department envisions waste shipments skirting the Nellis Air Force Range, turning south and proceeding near Goldfield, Scotty's Junction and Beatty before reaching Yucca Mountain, the site of the planned nuclear waste repository, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
No part of the route is in Clark County.
The announcement was roundly criticized by state officials as a further step by the federal government to force nuclear waste upon Nevadans.
One of the state's lawsuits challenging the project, scheduled to be heard next month in federal court, contends the Energy Department has taken environmental shortcuts in developing its nuclear waste transportation strategy.
Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., said he received permission from leaders of the House Transportation Committee to hold a hearing in Las Vegas, possibly next month, on how the Energy Department selected the corridor and its possible impacts.
Porter, vice chairman of the House railroad subcommittee, said the Energy Department should have waited until a court ruling on Nevada's lawsuit. He also said the Surface Transportation Board, a railroad regulatory panel, should be involved in the selection of a rail line.
"No transportation route will ever be acceptable," Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said in a statement. Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., described the announcement as "a lump of coal in Nevada's stocking."
"The Department of Energy does not have a license to open a nuclear waste dump, and releasing a preferred route puts them nowhere closer to that ability," Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a statement.
Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., charged the Energy Department took "the path of least resistance" in picking a "politically expedient" Caliente corridor before a detailed environmental review.
The Caliente rail corridor was singled out from five potential options studied by the Energy Department. The department identified a 323-mile corridor originating near Carlin as its backup choice.
Energy Department officials said the corridors were chosen for their remoteness and because most of the land is managed by federal agencies, diminishing the likelihood of land use conflicts.
"The attributes of these corridors lead us to be of the view that they will best assure the safe, secure and timely transport of materials to Yucca Mountain," project director Margaret Chu said in a letter notifying Gov. Kenny Guinn of the department's choices.
Guinn said through spokesman Greg Bortolin the move will add fuel to Nevada's lawsuits against the project.
Energy Department spokesman Allen Benson said the corridor selection was preliminary. In about a month, the department is expected to formally declare its preference to ship nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain by rail rather than by truck, allowing a rail corridor choice to be cemented shortly afterward.
The department then will file a notice to develop an environmental impact statement on the specific railway alignments within the corridor, a process Energy Department officials said could take several years.
Energy officials said no construction could take place until then. Building a railroad line along the Caliente corridor could take 46 months, with construction and operating costs reaching about $880 million, according to an Energy Department environmental study of the Yucca Mountain Project released last year.
Nevada officials argue the government is wildly underestimating both the cost and the time that would be required to carve through central Nevada's rugged terrain.
Nevada transportation consultants estimate costs would easily climb past $1 billion, said Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Agency For Nuclear Projects.
Two corridors that crossed parts of populous Clark County were rejected. By picking a preferred corridor that skirts the Nellis Range also helps the Energy Department avoid a confrontation with Pentagon officials, who have said the Yucca Mountain Project could hamper military testing and training, officials said.
Depending on the route's specifics, the rail line could affect future development in Beatty, Caliente, Goldfield, Warm Springs and Scotty's Junction, the Energy Department environmental study said.
"I think for a long time, it's made the most sense from a whole host of standpoints," said Caliente Mayor Kevin Phillips. He said Energy Department officials in the past had spoken favorably of allowing a Yucca rail line to be accessed by other users, although it was not clear whether that is current thinking.
Among possible beneficiaries, Phillips said, are Lincoln County farmers, who now truck hay to port in Los Angeles for sale in Japan.
But Louis Benezet of Pioche, a member of the Citizen Alert organization that opposes the Yucca Mountain Project, said Phillips does not speak for all Lincoln County residents.
"I believe they are no more interested in having nuclear waste shipments coming through our county than any other county."
