Field narrows to three for nuclear agency chief

Nevada's Nuclear Projects Commission on Monday narrowed down to three the field of candidates for the post being vacated by embattled agency chief Bob Loux.

The three remaining from a field of five candidates are former Sparks Mayor Bruce Breslow, former State Consumer Advocate Timothy Hay and Keith Tierney, a Reno lawyer who is a former board director of Citizen Alert, a statewide environmental group.

In all, 17 people applied for Loux's job. Six names were presented to the commission that will select three finalists.

Gov. Jim Gibbons will then select one as the next executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects. The agency leads the state's opposition to federal plans for building a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain.

Not making the cut Monday were Susan W. Lynch, an agency geologist who heads its technical program, and Fred McElroy, a Reno realty professional and former state director of the Nevada Association of Realtors.

The sixth candidate, Karen Beckley, withdrew her application prior to Monday's meeting.

Loux stepped down Sept. 29 amid controversy that he gave himself and his staff large, unauthorized pay raises. He remains as the agency's chief until Gibbons selects his successor. Loux had been the agency's executive director for 23 years.

Hay and Tierney received six votes each. Breslow received four votes but edged out Lynch who had two votes. Commission member Steve Molasky was absent from the seven-member panel.

Hay told the commission that if he becomes director, he will pursue obtaining title to the Yucca Mountain site, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, to put it in state control because federal plans are expected to hit so many roadblocks under president-elect Barack Obama's administration that the project will probably die for lack of funding.

"I think the end game requires title for the site to be transferred to a state entity, perhaps the Desert Research Institute," Hay said.

Tierney said, "I feel confident that I'm ready, willing and quite able to fulfill obligations of this agency."

Breslow said the Yucca Mountain Project "is not a safe project and doesn't belong anywhere until they (federal scientists) can figure it out."

Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.