WASHINGTON -- With the Yucca Mountain site still far from being designed or licensed, the Energy Department may be jumping the gun on some of the work it is preparing on the nuclear waste project next year, Clark County officials say.

The county is challenging DOE priorities for the proposed repository, based on a study of the department's $544.5 million congressional budget request for 2007.

Only a small portion of the budget was earmarked for repository licensing, the DOE's top priority, county officials said in a report.

Meanwhile, larger sums were planned to be spent on transportation, canister development and site work that "may be premature at this point," according to the report.

"It appears that at a minimum, $91,140,300 in activities described in DOE's budget request could be legitimately questioned as inappropriate for approval in fy (fiscal year) 2007," planning manager Irene Navis said in the analysis.

The Clark County budget breakdown was conducted in March. The resulting four-page report surfaced recently after it was sent to Nevada county and state officials, the Energy Department and members of Congress.

After his staff reviewed the analysis, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., inserted a provision into the Senate's 2007 Energy Department spending bill calling for a Government Accountability Office audit of the Yucca budget.

"I've been concerned for some time that the DOE has been using some of its Yucca funding in ways that are prohibited under the law," Reid said in a statement. "Clark County's analysis also raised some serious concerns about the unauthorized use of Yucca funding."

Reid said that with a GAO audit, "we can take a closer look at the situation and make sure all the spending is in full compliance with the law."

Energy Department officials did not comment on the county's findings. Spokesman Allen Benson said it is up to Congress to determine what work is appropriate for DOE to conduct in the coming year.

"Our appropriations come from Congress," Benson said.

A final 2007 figure will be set later this year. A House bill would set aside DOE's full request while a Senate bill would cut it by $50 million.

Clark County, whose elected officials oppose the repository program, has performed DOE budget audits for the past three years, Navis said.

"We have pointed out things that go beyond where we think they ought to be considering where they are in the license application process," Navis said.

Navis said she does not believe DOE is breaking a law "but the Nuclear Waste Policy Act is specific about what DOE should and shouldn't be spending money on in this stage of the game."

For instance, she said the law prohibits DOE from establishing temporary storage facilities at the Yucca site, but according to the county memo it appears from the budget that DOE is considering interim storage "as a fait accompli."

The Energy Department postponed a December 2004 target date to submit a license application for a nuclear waste repository at the Yucca site 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. DOE reportedly is eyeing a 2008 license application, with a projected repository opening between 2015 and 2020.

Clark County has challenged $28 million budgeted for fuel and canister-handling facilities at the Yucca site, and another $8 million for waste packaging, charging DOE has not yet designed the special containers that will carry the highly radioactive waste.

"A basic question is, if funds are spent now and there are changes in the license, or the canisters or the license are not approved, how will DOE recoup these millions of dollars?" the county report asked.