WASHINGTON -- The Department of Energy has not laid the proper groundwork to justify restricting public land use along a proposed railroad corridor to Yucca Mountain, Nevada officials said. The DOE plan for a 308,600-acre land withdrawal across parts of Lincoln, Nye and Esmeralda counties will have broad impacts that have not been studied adequately, state officials said in a formal statement.
The proposed action "is not just any land withdrawal," the state said in a seven-page critique signed by Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects.
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"Apart from causing impacts and disruption to existing land users, the proposed action has the potential to negatively affect the environment, grazing allotments, mining and energy development activities, property values, the economy, important cultural resources and more," the state said.
The commentary was submitted as the Department of Energy nears the end of a 30-day public comment period on the proposed land withdrawal.
DOE held public hearings this month in rural Nevada. As of Monday, the department received 30 comments on its proposal, spokesman Allen Benson said.
The Energy Department proposes to forbid new mining claims and prevent the Bureau of Land Management from selling property on the parcels that would be withdrawn for a period of 10 years.
The land to be withdrawn is a mile wide and stretches roughly 300 miles from Caliente to the Yucca site. Current mining claims, grazing permits, water rights and public access would not be affected, federal officials have said.
In its environmental assessment, DOE projected minimal disruptions from the land withdrawal. It said engineers plan to photograph land features and conduct field surveys to narrow down specific routes for a nuclear waste railroad line.
Nevada called on DOE to withdraw its assessment and conduct a full environmental impact study of the land withdrawal.
The state also argued the Energy Department should step aside and allow the BLM and rail experts at the Surface Transportation Board to conduct the needed studies.
"Expecting DOE to objectively and comprehensively assess the impacts of this action is like permitting the fox to report on the safety and security of the chicken coop," the state said.
