By MARVIN FERTEL

Special to the Review-Journal

Gov. Kenny Guinn confuses the politics of Yucca Mountain with reality in his Aug. 21 assertion that the federal repository project for used nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from U.S. defense programs "appears to be headed toward the trash bin of history" (commentary, "Is the Yucca Mountain Project in peril?").

Under any scenario for managing used nuclear fuel that produces 20 percent of America's electricity, a specially designed, underground repository will be needed to safely secure the material. This is true even if Congress shifts U.S. policy to recycle the enormous energy potential that remains in nuclear fuel rods after just one use in today's reactors.

Given the intense competition for world energy resources, the global commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and a doubling of U.S. electricity demand expected by 2030, it's no wonder why Congress and the nation are looking at an expanded role for nuclear energy. That expanded role must take into account stewardship of used nuclear fuel.

In 2002, Congress confirmed Yucca Mountain as the site for a deep geologic repository based on 20 years and $8 billion of scientific analysis. Some secondary aspects of that scientific pedigree have been challenged, but the broad body of work has withstood rigorous independent scientific review. Moreover, Congress has continued to fund this project each year and is now considering legislation that would facilitate building the repository some 1,000 feet under the desert ridge.

The DOE will continue to be subject to broad oversight of the program by the state and scientific and regulatory bodies when it moves to the repository construction phase. The nuclear energy industry shares this commitment to safety at the project, just as it has at 103 reactors in 31 states. As part of this oversight, DOE will be subject to a rigorous licensing process before the independent U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. DOE said it will file the license application to build the Yucca Mountain repository in 2008.

Two federal agencies involved in licensing Yucca Mountain have vast experience in licensing nuclear fuel storage facilities. The NRC has licensed more than two dozen fuel storage facilities at nuclear plant sites, and the Environmental Protection Agency licensed an underground nuclear waste disposal facility in the salt caverns of Carlsbad, N.M.

More than 3,000 safe shipments of used nuclear fuel demonstrate that the material can be moved without impact to the public or the environment. A National Research Council report earlier this year included the principal finding that "radiological risk associated with transportation of spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste are well understood and are generally low."

Other used fuel management proposals being considered by Congress would not change the need for the Yucca Mountain repository.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Pete Domenici, who supports a three-pronged effort -- including fuel recycling, interim storage and disposal at a repository -- stated clearly that the Yucca Mountain project must remain a part of a comprehensive used fuel management program. "Yucca Mountain is the cornerstone of a comprehensive spent nuclear fuel management strategy for this country. Let me be clear: We need Yucca Mountain," Domenici said in August.

Some Nevada business and community leaders recognize it is inevitable that the repository at Yucca Mountain will move forward, and that Nevada should benefit from partnering with the government on this project. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act requires that the federal government provide benefits for a repository host state. Therefore, the state could negotiate a benefits package that bolsters education, state health care, infrastructure, water and other needs for the long term.

Others in Nevada continue to fight the project without success. A federal appeals court in August handed the state yet another loss in the courts, denying Nevada's claim that the environmental impact statement for the project was flawed and dismissing other claims that were "unripe for review."

Recognizing these factors, Gov. Guinn is raising false hopes for Nevadans about a project that figures to be a vital part of providing our nation greater energy independence. In addition, the $60 billion project could provide enormous economic opportunity for the state and a chance for Nevada to become a center of science and energy research.

Marvin Fertel is chief nuclear officer and senior vice president at the Nuclear Energy Institute in Washington, D.C. NEI is a policy organization that represents users of commercial nuclear technology in energy, medicine and other applications.