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    December

  • December 28, 2001 -- State loses another skirmish in fight against Yucca dump   CARSON CITY - The state has suffered a second setback this month in its legal fight to stop the designation of Yucca Mountain as the nation's high-level nuclear waste repository -- By Cy Ryan (Las Vegas Sun)

  • December 28, 2001 -- Court rejects Nevada appeal of radiation standard  CARSON CITY - The state has suffered a setback in its efforts to fight construction of a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said Thursday -- By Sean Whaley (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • December 27, 2001 -- State eyeing appeal in battle over Yucca water  CARSON CITY -- The state may appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in its fight to stop the Energy Department from getting water rights to operate the proposed nuclear dump at Yucca Mountain -- By Cy Ryan (Las Vegas Sun)

  • December 27, 2001 -- Court rejects request in Yucca Mountain case  CARSON CITY - A federal appeals court has rejected Nevada's request to take another look at its order in a dispute over water needed to develop a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain -- By Brendan Riley (Associated Press)

  • December 25, 2001 -- Nuclear Energy Institute seeks to challenge Nevada's Yucca suit  WASHINGTON - The Nuclear Energy Institute has filed a motion in federal court seeking to challenge Nevada's lawsuit against site guidelines for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository -- Las Vegas Review-Journal

  • December 24, 2001 -- Report: Yucca is behind schedule  The Energy Department's drive to open a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain by 2010 is partly fueled by a desire to reduce its liability to power producers, a federal audit says -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • December 23, 2001 -- Power plant chief backs Yucca site   HADDAM, Conn. - The head of the Connecticut Yankee nuclear power plant has urged U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to recommend Yucca Mountain in Nevada as a dump site for the nation's nuclear waste -- Associated Press

  • December 22, 2001 -- Reid blocks vote on nominee to lead Yucca project  WASHINGTON - Government science manager Margaret Chu was passed over by the Senate on Thursday for confirmation to head the Yucca Mountain Project, the result of a block by Sen. Harry Reid -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • December 22, 2001 -- GAO's final report: Opting to proceed with Yucca Mountain might be premature  WASHINGTON - The final version of a controversial analysis of the Yucca Mountain Project concludes "it may be premature" for Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to recommend that nuclear waste should be buried in Nevada -- By Steve Tetreault

  • December 21, 2001 -- GAO: Yucca would 'not be practical'  The Energy Department should indefinitely postpone construction of a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, the General Accounting Office said in a report today -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • December 21, 2001 -- Gibbons urges labor to go it alone on Yucca  WASHINGTON - Rep. Jim Gibbons has challenged the Nevada AFL-CIO to distance itself from its national counterpart over the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • December 20, 2001 -- Yucca health, safety studies sought  Federal scientists studying Yucca Mountain have left many gaps in their research as it relates to the health and safety of nearby residents and, as a consequence, the Department of Energy should continue researching the site, Nevada's geologist said -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • December 20, 2001 -- Utility officials urge fast approval of Yucca facility  WASHINGTON - A group of state utility regulators and nuclear power executives met with a top Energy Department official Wednesday to urge speedy recommendation of Yucca Mountain for nuclear waste burial -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • December 18, 2001 -- Nuclear industry studies role in Yucca suit  WASHINGTON - The nuclear industry may intervene in a lawsuit filed Monday by Nevada officials against the Energy Department -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • December 18, 2001 -- More concerns raised over Yucca ground water  A Nevada consultant has raised new doubts regarding how fast deep ground water is moving beneath Yucca Mountain, the only site proposed to house 77,000 tons of the nation's high-level nuclear waste -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • December 18, 2001 -- New Suit Filed Against U.S. About Nuclear Waste Dump  WASHINGTON — The State of Nevada filed suit today in its continuing effort to prevent the federal government from establishing a nuclear waste burial site at Yucca Mountain, about 90 miles from Las Vegas -- By Matthew L. Wald (New York Times)

  • December 18, 2001 -- Nevada sues Energy Department   WASHINGTON - The state of Nevada filed a lawsuit Monday to halt the Yucca Mountain Project, challenging Energy Department ground rules for judging whether the site is suitable for nuclear waste storage -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • December 18, 2001 -- Panel airs repository complaints   A National Academy of Sciences committee heard from Nevada officials and scientists Monday about the pitfalls of taking a staged approach to designing, building and operating a nuclear waste repository -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • December 15, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain: DOE denies appeal on site rules  Denial sets stage for a lawsuit Nevada officials expect to file in Washington -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • December 15, 2001 -- Boulder City chamber pulls out of group   The Boulder City Chamber of Commerce announced this week its withdrawal from a national business group that favors burying nuclear waste in Nevada -- Las Vegas Review-Journal

  • December 14, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain battle heats up   WASHINGTON — State officials say they will start using recent government reports about mismanagement and conflicts of interest at Yucca Mountain in lawsuits attempting to block the Energy Department from moving forward with plans to build the nuclear waste dump -- By Doug Abrahms (Reno Gazette-Journal)

  • December 14, 2001 -- DOE eyes study of building nuke dump in stages  The Department of Energy has asked a National Academy of Sciences panel to investigate building a nuclear waste repository in stages so that flaws in the project could be identified at an early point in construction -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • December 14, 2001 -- State readies federal suit over Yucca standards  CARSON CITY - The final touches are being put on a federal lawsuit to overturn new Department of Energy regulations that lower the safety standard for storing high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain -- By Cy Ryan (Las Vegas Sun)

  • December 14, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain: Critical juncture for project  The Nuclear Waste Policy Act signed into law by President Reagan on Jan. 7, 1983, established a national policy for storing nuclear waste in a repository, an idea first proposed by the National Academy of Sciences in 1957 -- By Mark Waite (Pahrump View)

  • December 14, 2001 -- Energy undersecretary meets with activists  Department of Energy Undersecretary Robert Card held private meetings Thursday with environmentalists and anti-nuclear activists about the government's plans to haul nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain for disposal -- Las Vegas Review-Journal

  • December 13, 2001 -- Abraham: No Yucca decision  Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said Wednesday that he has not decided whether to choose Yucca Mountain as the nation's only nuclear waste repository and has not set a deadline for when he would make that decision -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

    Photo: Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, center, listens to public comment on the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository during a final public hearing at Cashman Field -- LV Sun

  • December 13, 2001 -- Abraham makes surprise visit   In a surprise visit that caught Nevada leaders off guard, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham came to Las Vegas on Wednesday for the final hearing on his agency's plans to entomb the nation's most lethal nuclear waste inside Yucca Mountain -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal

  • December 13, 2001 -- Panel clears Chu for Yucca post  WASHINGTON - A Senate panel on Wednesday approved Sandia Laboratories nuclear waste director Margaret Chu to be the next manager of the Yucca Mountain project -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • December 12, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain: DOE weighing phased license application  Delays might force stepped approach to filing -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • December 12, 2001 -- Few bother to attend YMP hearing  Judging by last week's turnout, most of the people with an opinion about the Yucca Mountain Project had their say during the Oct. 12 public hearing in Pahrump -- By Henry Brean (Pahrump Valley Times)

  • December 11, 2001 -- Guinn, Del Papa urge DOE to delay Yucca action  CARSON CITY - Gov. Kenny Guinn and Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa are asking Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to delay recommending Yucca Mountain as the nation's nuclear waste repository -- By Cy Ryan (Las Vegas Sun)

  • December 11, 2001 -- Nevada officials set stage for lawsuit on Yucca Mountain  State wants decision on nuclear waste site postponed until it reviews new guidelines -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • December 11, 2001 -- Douglas County gives money to fight Yucca nuclear repository  Douglas County has answered Gov. Kenny Guinn’s call for support in Nevada’s fight to prevent nuclear waste from being buried at Yucca Mountain -- Tim Anderson (Reno Gazette-Journal)

  • December 10, 2001 -- Governor, Attorney General seek Yucca Mountain site recommendation postponement   CARSON CITY - Governor Kenny Guinn and Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa today sent a joint letter to Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham requesting that he postpone an apparently imminent Yucca Mountain Site Recommendation -- State of Nevada

  • December 10, 2001 -- Audit: DOE withholding key Yucca data  GAO report says lawsuits could hit $50 billion -- By Benjamin Grove and Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • December 10, 2001 -- Nevada pulls Yucca audit off Internet  WASHINGTON - Nevada officials briefly posted the unofficial draft copy of a General Accounting Office audit of the Yucca Mountain project last week, then pulled it off their website at the GAO's request -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • December 07, 2001 -- Nevadans plan to file complaint in Yucca case  WASHINGTON - Nevada's lawmakers in Congress plan to file a formal complaint against the law firm that was shepherding the Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain project -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • December 07, 2001 -- Delegation plots strategy to stop dump   WASHINGTON - Nevada's congressional delegation, invigorated by setbacks to the Yucca Mountain Project, on Thursday announced new efforts to derail the planned nuclear waste dump -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • December 06, 2001 -- Few attend DOE hearing on Yucca project  In sharp contrast to a hearing three months ago, hundreds of seats were unoccupied Wednesday at the Department of Energy's hearing at the Cashman Center on the government's plans to entomb nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • December 06, 2001 -- Chu promises serious look at issues raised in Yucca report  WASHINGTON - Margaret Chu, nominated to head the Energy Department's nuclear waste disposal office, told senators on Wednesday that once confirmed, she will look "seriously and quickly" at issues raised in a report critical of Yucca Mountain program management -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • December 05, 2001 -- Nominee to direct Yucca Mountain faces few questions   WASHINGTON - Senators had few questions today at a nomination hearing for the next likely director of the Yucca Mountain project -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • December 05, 2001 -- Reid's release of GAO report did not break rules   WASHINGTON - Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., drew an angry response from Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham but broke no written rules or protocols of the General Accounting Office when he gave excerpts of a draft copy of a GAO report on Yucca Mountain to the media -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • December 05, 2001 -- Nuclear waste: Bush urged to delay Yucca decision  WASHINGTON - Nevada lawmakers kicked off a new campaign against nuclear waste burial in the state by urging President Bush on Tuesday to delay decisions on Yucca Mountain until they can get answers to questions raised by two recent investigations -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • December 05, 2001 -- Draft of program review leaked in time for public hearings that start today   Federal officials are choosing up sides over a report by the U.S. General Accounting Office that casts serious doubts on the cost, timeline and some of the technical aspects of the Yucca Mountain Project -- By Henry Brean (Pahrump Valley Times)

  • December 05, 2001 -- The Battle Over Nuclear Waste  Douglas Waller on the fight over Nevada's Yucca Mountain, the proposed site to bury the nation's radioactive waste -- Time Magazine

  • December 04, 2001 -- Nevadans ask Bush to delay decision on Yucca  WASHINGTON - Nevada's congressional delegation today asked President Bush to delay a decision this winter about whether to proceed with the Yucca Mountain project -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • December 04, 2001 -- Contractor disputes GAO's Yucca audit  The president of the Energy Department contractor that is studying the viability of Yucca Mountain as the nation's nuclear waste repository said company officials "are astounded by the factual and legal inaccuracies" contained in a recent congressional audit of the project -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • December 04, 2001 -- Guinn says Yucca project is doomed to failure  With even the Governmental Accounting Office urging indefinite postponement of Yucca Mountain, Gov. Kenny Guinn says it is increasingly obvious the nuclear dump project is "doomed to failure." -- Geoff Dornan (Nevada Appeal)

  • December 04, 2001 -- Law firm seeks Yucca contract   WASHINGTON - A law firm passed over two years ago for a job to advise the Energy Department on licensing a nuclear waste repository in Nevada remains interested in getting the work -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • December 03, 2001 -- Winston & Strawn still in Nevada's cross hairs   Nevada's congressional delegation may push for criminal charges against the law firm that last week quit work on the Energy Department's Yucca Mountain project -- By Mary Manning and Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • December 03, 2001 -- Yucca foes foresee potential for nuke disaster  All it would take is four terrorists and $10,000 worth of materials available at home improvement stores to attack and crack a single nuclear waste container heading to a Yucca Mountain repository, state and county opponents of Yucca Mountain said Saturday -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • December 03, 2001 -- Nuke Waste for Nevada?  Laura Cohn interviews Nevada Senator Harry Reid - Edited by Beth Belton (Businessweek)

  • December 02, 2001 -- Nuclear waste storage: Yucca foes buoyed by victories  Nevada officials who gathered Saturday to discuss the Yucca Mountain Project reveled in two recent victories in their ongoing effort to defeat the proposed nuclear waste repository -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

    Photo: Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., left, speaks Saturday at a forum on the Yucca Mountain Project at the Clark County Government Center while former Sen. Richard Bryan listens -- Review-Journal photo

  • December 01, 2001 -- Energy's Abraham to proceed on Yucca   WASHINGTON - Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham plans to forge ahead in deciding this winter if nuclear waste should be buried at Yucca Mountain despite a congressional report that raises questions about the government's progress on the repository program, officials said Friday -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • December 01, 2001 -- Law firm retreats from DOE contract   WASHINGTON - Dogged for months by allegations of a conflict, the Winston & Strawn law firm announced Friday it has withdrawn from a $16.5 million contract to advise the Energy Department on license preparations for a nuclear waste repository in Nevada -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • December 01, 2001 -- Property values at risk, report says   Transporting nuclear waste through Clark County to the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository would decrease property values by up to 30 percent, resulting in property value losses of $1 billion according to a county report on Yucca Mountain Project impacts -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

    November

  • November 30, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain impact study to be released  Clark County officials on Saturday plan to reveal preliminary results of a study estimating the social, economic and political ramifications should a nuclear waste repository be built at Yucca Mountain -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 30, 2001 -- GAO calls for delay on Yucca decision  WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department should indefinitely postpone a decision on whether to build a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, a Congressional audit says -- By Mary Manning and Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 30, 2001 -- Congressional Audit: Report deals blow to Yucca project  WASHINGTON - A stinging congressional audit obtained by the Review-Journal casts the federal government's efforts to bury nuclear waste inside Yucca Mountain as "a failed scientific process" that will take years to fix -- By Steve Tetreault

  • November 29, 2001 -- Forum to be held on Yucca   Clark County officials will release a study this week on impacts from the federal government's plans to haul 77,000 tons of highly radioactive waste to Yucca Mountain for disposal -- Las Vegas Review-Journal

  • November 29, 2001 -- Study: Let free market handle nuclear waste  A Nevada think tank is urging a free market solution to dispose of the nation's nuclear waste -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 28, 2001 -- House renews protection for nuclear power plants  WASHINGTON - The House on Tuesday approved a 15-year extension of the government insurance program for nuclear utilities in a bill that also calls on the Bush administration to upgrade security at power plants -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • November 27, 2001 -- Price-Anderson Act: House vote set on nuclear plant liability support  WASHINGTON - The House is scheduled to vote today on renewing a 44-year-old law that gives the nuclear power industry the government's help with disaster liability -- Donrey Washington Bureau (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • November 27, 2001 -- Judging Yucca Mountain   Panelists lay out legal blueprint for killing nuke waste dump -- By Damon Hodge (Las Vegas Weekly)

  • November 27, 2001 -- Five Nevada governors share views on nuke waste, what it takes to be good leader -- By Jane Ann Morrison (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • November 25, 2001 -- No need to bury nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain  The Nevada Policy Research Institute, the Silver State's free-market think tank, this week released a study that describes a number of alternatives to burying the nuclear-power industry's spent-fuel rods inside Yucca Mountain -- Nevada Appeal

  • November 23, 2001 -- Nine more hearings set on Yucca Mountain   -- Las Vegas Sun

  • November 23, 2001 -- Public urged to attend panel discussion on Yucca  State and Clark County officials are soliciting comments from Southern Nevada residents at a special panel discussion on a proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 22, 2001 -- Nine more nuclear waste hearings set   WASHINGTON - The Energy Department on Wednesday announced that nine more nuclear waste hearings will be held in Nevada before Secretary Spencer Abraham decides whether to recommend that a waste repository be built at Yucca Mountain -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • November 22, 2001 -- DOE to hold more public meetings on Yucca Mountain plan   LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Energy Department will hold nine additional public hearings in December so Nevada residents can comment on the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, the DOE announced Wednesday -- Associated Press

  • November 21, 2001 -- Few cities donate to fight nuclear waste dump   Only a half dozen Nevada governments have responded to Gov. Kenny Guinn’s September call for money to prevent nuclear waste from being buried at Yucca Mountain -- By Tim Anderson (Reno Gazette-Journal)

  • November 21, 2001 -- Leaders OK nuclear information campaign  Nevada leaders on Tuesday approved a $1 million contract with Brown & Partners Advertising to spread the word nationwide about the risks of transporting nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain -- By Geoff Dornan (Nevada Appeal)

  • November 21, 2001 -- Nuke firms behind U.S. Chamber's pro-Yucca campaign   WASHINGTON - A national alliance of energy companies that includes nuclear utilities led the effort to craft the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's lobbying campaign to promote Yucca Mountain -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 20, 2001 -- LV chamber cuts ties to U.S. group  In the high-stakes fight to keep nuclear waste from being transported to Nevada, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce has severed its ties with its national organization, which is backing a repository at Yucca Mountain -- By Diana Sahagun (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 20, 2001 -- U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Yucca Mountain causes split  WASHINGTON -- The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce on Monday quit its affiliation with a national business group that wants nuclear waste to be buried in Nevada -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • November 19, 2001 -- Chamber seeks unity in opposition to shipping nuke waste   Last week's decision by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to back a nuclear waste repository in Nevada could lead local chambers of commerce to pull out of the group and encourage their counterparts nationwide to follow their lead -- By Erin Neff (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 17, 2001 -- Reid developing legislation to improve plant security  WASHINGTON - Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Friday he is developing legislation with Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., to improve security at nuclear power plants, including stationing federal agents at reactors to deter potential terrorists -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • November 16, 2001 -- Probe confirms conflict of interest for Yucca law firm   WASHINGTON - The Department of Energy could decide within 15 days what will happen to Winston & Strawn, the law firm that is handling the legal work for DOE's Yucca Mountain project -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 16, 2001 -- U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports Yucca  WASHINGTON - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has announced a large-scale lobbying effort in favor of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste plan, jilting its powerful local Las Vegas chapter -- By Benjamin Grove and Erin Neff (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 16, 2001 -- Nevada to woo other states in Yucca fight  CARSON CITY - A Las Vegas firm has been selected to launch a media blitz to convince residents of other states to join Nevada in its fight against a proposed high-level nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain -- By Cy Ryan (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 15, 2001 -- Yucca guideline unveiled  Department of Energy officials on Wednesday unveiled what they think are the essential criteria for licensing a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain -- an important milestone in the 14-year-old plan to bury the nation's high-level nuclear waste in the Nevada desert -- By Mary Manning and Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 15, 2001 -- DOE's Yucca probe points to firm's bias  WASHINGTON -- The Department of Energy's law firm on the Yucca Mountain project may have had a serious, undisclosed conflict of interest with the nuclear industry, the DOE's internal investigator today revealed -- By Benjamin Grove and Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 15, 2001 -- Rural radiation exposure feared  Rural residents could be exposed to "very large" amounts of radiation from trucks of nuclear waste being shipped to a Yucca Mountain repository, even if no accident ever occurs, a consultant to Nevada said -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 15, 2001 -- Governor, AG challenge nuclear dump siting guidelines  Both Gov. Kenny Guinn and Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa promised Wednesday to challenge the Yucca Mountain siting guidelines -- Geoff Dornan (Nevada Appeal)

  • November 15, 2001 -- Guinn critical of new Yucca project guidelines  Gov. Kenny Guinn criticized guidelines released Wednesday for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, saying the federal government is "changing the rules to fit the site." -- Las Vegas Review-Journal

  • November 15, 2001 -- Bill orders terror plan for Yucca   WASHINGTON - A bill introduced in the U.S. House on Wednesday directs Office of Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge to develop a terrorism protection plan for Yucca Mountain and for nuclear waste shipments to the proposed repository site -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • November 14, 2001 -- Berkley bill calls for threat study of Yucca  WASHINGTON - Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., today introduced legislation designed to slow the plan to bury the nation's high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 14, 2001 -- Nevada wants another hearing on federal water at Yucca Mountain   LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada is asking a federal court for another chance to block the federal government from getting the water it needs to develop Yucca Mountain as the nation’s nuclear waste repository -- Associated Press

  • November 13, 2001 -- Yucca dump draws criticism from international experts   International review panels have criticized a proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain as Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham prepares to recommend the site as the nation's nuclear waste repository -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 13, 2001 -- Terror threat left out of Yucca report  WASHINGTON - The final report on whether Yucca Mountain is a suitable place to bury high-level nuclear waste will not contain an analysis of terrorist threats to the site, project chief Lake Barrett said Monday -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 13, 2001 -- State asks circuit court to re-examine Yucca issue   CARSON CITY - The state of Nevada is continuing legal efforts to deny the federal government the water it needs to develop Yucca Mountain into a repository for high-level nuclear waste -- By Cy Ryan (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 13, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain: Leak investigation doesn't worry official  WASHINGTON - The head of the government's nuclear waste disposal effort on Monday shrugged off allegations that his program might have received an improper leak of draft license documents for Yucca Mountain from another federal agency -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • November 08, 2001 -- Nevada congresswoman asks probe of Yucca Mountain law firm   LAS VEGAS — A Nevada congresswoman has asked the District of Columbia Bar to step up a conflict-of-interest investigation of a law firm working on a proposal for a nuclear waste dump near Las Vegas -- Associated Press

  • November 07, 2001 -- Berkley seeks inquiry into document release  WASHINGTON - Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., on Tuesday asked the District of Columbia Bar to investigate an impropriety allegation against a law firm working on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • November 06, 2001 -- Nuke panel adopts tougher Yucca licensing regulations   The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has adopted new licensing regulations -- including tougher limits concerning radiation in ground water -- that apply to a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

    Members of the public mill around a NAC-LWT Transportation Cask as it sits on view in its truck during a public open house of the Yucca Mountain Project. Photo: Sam Morris

  • November 05, 2001 -- Nuclear cask arrives in time for Yucca tour  YUCCA MOUNTAIN - The first high-level nuclear waste shipping container arrived empty at Yucca Mountain on Saturday, in time for 572 visitors to see it -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 05, 2001 -- UNLV to host public meeting on nuke waste  Six nationally recognized scholars, expert in public perceptions of nuclear waste risks, are coming to UNLV -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 02, 2001 -- NRC probing possible leak of Yucca plan   WASHINGTON - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is investigating whether an internal document was leaked to Energy Department officials to help them prepare a license application to bury nuclear waste in Nevada -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • November 02, 2001 -- Tunnel fire cited as cause for nuke waste changes   Gov. Kenny Guinn and state attorneys have asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to immediately amend rules that apply to the shipment of radioactive waste -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 02, 2001 -- Guinn spotlights waste accident scenario   Gov. Kenny Guinn this week sent to U.S. Sen. Harry Reid a letter stressing the importance of a new study into potential effects from a fire in a train tunnel involving nuclear waste shipments headed to the proposed Yucca Mountain repository -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • November 01, 2001 -- Feb. 28 deadline set to recommend Yucca  Congress ordered the DOE to complete an environmental impact study and deliver a site recommendation on whether the mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is suitable for housing 77,000 tons of radioactive waste -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 01, 2001 -- Secret Yucca plan allegedly leaked  WASHINGTON - Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials are investigating whether a confidential Yucca Mountain review plan was leaked by someone inside the agency to the Department of Energy -- By Benjamin Grove and Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • November 01, 2001 -- Nuclear measure advances   WASHINGTON - The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved Wednesday a 15-year renewal of the government's insurance program for nuclear power plants -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

    October

  • October 31, 2001 -- Negotiators cut proposed spending for Yucca Mountain by $70 million  WASHINGTON - Congressional negotiators on Tuesday night cut proposed spending for nuclear waste studies at Yucca Mountain by $70 million -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • October 31, 2001 -- Reid gets his way on Yucca budget  WASHINGTON - Every year congressional lawmakers who want to bury the nation's nuclear waste in Nevada engage in a months-long tussle with Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., over the Yucca Mountain budget -- By Benjamin Grove and Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • October 31, 2001 -- Attacks heighten nuclear waste worries   With prospects for more terrorist attacks looming across the country, Nevada's Nuclear Projects Commission on Tuesday stressed the importance of building out-of-state opposition to federal plans for hauling the nation's most lethal radioactive waste to Yucca Mountain -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • October 31, 2001 -- Official: Yucca woes not limited to Nevada  Problems posed by a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain are not limited to Nevada, state officials said during a meeting Tuesday of the state's Commission on Nuclear Projects -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • October 28, 2001 -- Move could affect Yucca Mountain debate  WASHINGTON - The cast of players in the long-running nuclear waste debate on Capitol Hill could shift next year as Sen. Frank Murkowski, a leading backer of spent fuel burial in Nevada, has announced he is running for governor of Alaska -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • October 26, 2001 -- State may challenge approval of Yucca design guidelines   Nevada officials are considering legal options over the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's approval of guidelines that allow the Department of Energy to begin designing a repository at Yucca Mountain, a state official said -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • October 26, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain: Commission OKs changes   WASHINGTON -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has signed off on changes the Energy Department wants to make in site guidelines for Yucca Mountain, moving the Nevada site closer to a possible recommendation that it is suitable for nuclear waste storage -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • October 23, 2001 -- Tougher security precautions might be instituted for Yucca   The Nuclear Regulatory Commission may impose tougher security regulations at all licensed nuclear facilities, including rules applying to a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • October 23, 2001 -- F-18 crashes 20 miles west of Nevada Test Site  Military officials are investigating the crash today of a U.S. Navy F-18 about 20 miles west of the Nevada Test Site near the Nellis Air Force Range -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • October 17, 2001 -- Anxiety for the record   A public hearing in Pahrump on plans to bury thousands of tons of nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain, about 50 miles away, was delayed twice in the wake of last month's terrorist attacks. And when it was finally held Friday, it was dominated by the events of Sept. 11 -- By Henry Brean (Pahrump Valley Times)

  • October 17, 2001 -- Comment period closes on Friday  The hearings are over, but the time to comment is not -- Pahrump Valley Times

  • October 17, 2001 -- YMP decision Congress bound?   The process was detailed at the start of Friday's public hearing in Pahrump, and one thing appears clear: The ultimate fate of the Yucca Mountain Project will almost certainly rest with Congress -- By Henry Brean (Pahrump Valley Times)

  • October 16, 2001 -- Yucca lawsuit will be litigated in federal court  SAN FRANCISCO - The battle over where to store the nation's 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste inched forward Monday when a divided federal appeals court ruled a lawsuit over the Yucca Mountain Project will be heard in federal court -- By David Kravets (Associated Press)

  • October 13, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain anxiety echoes at final hearing  PAHRUMP - Radioactivity tainting groundwater supplies. Terrorists with rocket launchers hiding along transportation routes. Canisters filled with the nation's most lethal nuclear waste corroding after thousands of years -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • October 12, 2001 -- Concerned citizens question representatives about the safety of Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository  Yerington citizens, had the opportunity last Friday to meet with both proponents and adversaries of the proposed federal nuclear waste depository at Yucca Mountain -- By Kay Jenney (Mason Valley News)

  • October 12, 2001 -- Berkley seeks probe of Yucca law firm  WASHINGTON - Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., today asked the Washington, D.C., bar association to investigate conflict-of-interest allegations against the Chicago law firm handling legal work on the Yucca Mountain project -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • October 11, 2001 -- Attacks dominate Yucca talks   AMARGOSA VALLEY - The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks proved a dominant theme during a Wednesday hearing on the government's plans for hauling lethal nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • October 11, 2001 -- Report examines risk to nuclear containers  AMARGOSA VALLEY - A 1999 federal study found that anti-aircraft fire could penetrate a nuclear waste shipping container, but only a trace of radiation would be released if it did, a Department of Energy official said Wednesday -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • October 11, 2001 -- Safety issues studied   WASHINGTON - A high-level task force within the Transportation Department is meeting daily to review safety issues raised by last month's terrorist strikes, including the risks of shipping nuclear waste around the country, a department official said Wednesday -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • October 10, 2001 -- Ensign warns DOT of Yucca risks  WASHINGTON - Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., today urged Department of Transportation officials to consider the risk of terrorist attacks on shipments of radioactive waste as part of a broader look at terrorist threats to the nation's trains, trucks, buses and airplanes -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • October 09, 2001 -- House panel talks Yucca security  WASHINGTON - The best way to protect nuclear waste from terrorists is to ship it from sites around the country to a high-security location in Nevada, a key senator on energy issues said today -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • October 05, 2001 -- Berkley: Possible threats at Yucca a top priority   WASHINGTON - The nation's new Office of Homeland Security should make one of its first jobs analyzing a terrorist threat at the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said Thursday -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • October 05, 2001 -- Protest staged at federal hearing on Nevada nuclear dump  RENO, Nev. (AP) - About 75 demonstrators marched into a meeting room Thursday to protest the latest round of federal hearings on the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump -- By Martin Griffith (Associated Press)

  • October 05, 2001 -- Berkley bill would study Yucca Mountain security  WASHINGTON - Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said Thursday she is forming legislation that would require the incoming director of homeland security to develop plans to defend the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository against terrorist attacks -- Donrey Washington Bureau (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • October 04, 2001 -- House panel OKs bill on security for nuclear plants, waste  WASHINGTON - A House committee Wednesday approved a bill that directs the government to pull its security blanket tighter over commercial nuclear plants and spent-fuel storage, including a proposed repository at Yucca Mountain -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • October 03, 2001 -- Guinn, Del Papa rip Yucca process  CARSON CITY - Gov. Kenny Guinn and Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa are complaining that the public has been given neither adequate information nor sufficient time to comment during the latest round of public hearings on the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain -- By Cy Ryan (Las Vegas Sun)

  • October 01, 2001 -- Yucca hearings ordered in all counties  Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham has ordered Department of Energy officials to visit each county in Nevada and Inyo County, Calif., to conduct field hearings and collect public comments on a proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear repository -- Las Vegas Sun

    September

  • September 29, 2001 -- DOE schedules more meetings on Yucca dump  WASHINGTON - The Energy Department announced Friday it will expand the public comment process on the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository by adding sessions in Nevada's rural counties early next month -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • September 28, 2001 -- Yucca lump-sum funding criticized by lawmakers   The Department of Energy for the first time has asked Congress to consider paying for the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in one lump sum rather than doling out smaller annual budgets, according to an agency report -- By Benjamin Grove and Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • September 27, 2001 -- Department of Energy looks into possible Yucca mountain terrorist attack   LAS VEGAS (AP) — The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 have prompted the Department of Energy to revisit the threat of a plane crash at a proposed nuclear waste repository in Nevada -- Associated Press

  • September 26, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain: Terrorism risks get new look  This month's terrorist attacks involving hijacked passenger jets has prompted Department of Energy officials to consider the consequences of a plane crashing into an above-ground nuclear waste storage site at Yucca Mountain if a repository is built there -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • September 26, 2001 -- Activists urge more defenses for nuclear power plants  WASHINGTON - Organizations pushing for tighter reins on nuclear energy called Tuesday for the government to install anti-aircraft missiles at nuclear power plants and to station National Guard units at their perimeters to discourage attacks by terrorists -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • September 24, 2001 -- Yucca law firm remains silent on conflict probe   WASHINGTON - Lawyers at the Chicago law firm handling legal work for the Yucca Mountain project - subjects of an ongoing federal conflict-of-interest investigation - are still mum about the allegations -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • September 21, 2001 -- Hearings set on Yucca  The Department of Energy has rescheduled a pair of public hearings on the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. The agency has also extended the public comment period -- Las Vegas Sun

  • September 21, 2001 -- Nye ready to rap YMP groundwater models  Aquifer flows need to be better understood before project OK'd, Bradshaw says -- By Henry Brean (Pahrump Valley Times)

  • September 21, 2001 -- Yucca hearings set for October   Ten days after the Department of Energy postponed the last two public hearings on its plans to bury nuclear waste inside Yucca Mountain -- then rescheduled them for Monday at the same time in separate locations -- officials on Thursday delayed them again -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • September 19, 2001 -- Reid seeks delay of Yucca hearings  Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., on Tuesday urged Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to delay two Yucca Mountain hearings scheduled in rural Nevada for Monday, in the wake of terrorist attacks in New York and Washington -- By Benjamin Grove and Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • September 19, 2001 -- EPA ombudsman backs off   WASHINGTON - An EPA ombudsman says lawsuits challenging radiation health standards set for a Nevada nuclear waste repository make it unnecessary for him to intervene at this time -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • September 18, 2001 -- Local officials to DOE: Delay Yucca hearings   Nevada officials say it is premature for the Department of Energy to schedule simultaneous public hearings regarding a proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • September 18, 2001 -- Nuke waste loads on hold  The Energy Department has indefinitely halted at least 20 shipments of low-level nuclear waste destined for the Nevada Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • September 18, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain hearings scheduled same time and day  To the dismay of some state and local officials, the Department of Energy on Monday rescheduled the last two public hearings on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project for the same day and time -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • September 18, 2001 -- Energy secretary expands Yucca Mountain public comment process   LAS VEGAS — "To further increase opportunities for citizens to offer their comments and to provide for greater public involvement, the department will also hold additional public meetings this year," Abraham said in a statement, indicating he might attend a hearing -- By Lisa Snedeker (Associated Press)

  • September 17 -- No new dates set for Yucca hearings  No new date for the meetings, originally scheduled Sept. 12 in Amargosa Valley and Sept. 13 in Pahrump, has been set in the wake of Tuesday's terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. -- Las Vegas Sun

  • September 13, 2001 -- Panel told risk of eruption at Yucca site is underestimated  A state geologist challenged the Department of Energy on Wednesday to better assess the risk of a volcanic eruption at Yucca Mountain, where the government has proposed storing the nation's high-level nuclear waste -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • September 12, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain hearings delayed   Public hearings scheduled for tonight and Thursday night on the government's plans for burying nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain have been postponed, a Department of Energy spokesman said -- Las Vegas Review-Journal

  • September 12, 2001 -- State hires law firm to contest Yucca plan  CARSON CITY - State officials on Tuesday hired a Washington, D.C., law firm at a cost of $2.5 million to fight federal efforts to build a high-level nuclear waste repository 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas at Yucca Mountain -- By Sean Whaley (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • September 11, 2001 -- DOE calls off Yucca Mountain hearings  In light of the terrorist attacks, Department of Energy officials this morning postponed hearings scheduled for this week on the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site -- By Benjamin Grove and Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • September 11, 2001 -- Skeptical scientists concerned about missing Yucca data   Although a top Department of Energy official insisted government experts are ready to recommend Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository this year, skeptical scientists said they still have concerns over missing data -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • September 11, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain doubts abound   While scientific uncertainties with the Yucca Mountain Project are being aired this week before a presidential panel, a top official with the Department of Energy program said Monday that budget uncertainties might jeopardize the project's pace and decisions on burying nuclear waste in Nevada -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • September 11, 2001 -- Yucca chief warns of staffing cuts  Acting Yucca Mountain project chief Lake Barrett on Monday again warned that drastic staffing cuts loom at his agency if Congress approves a slashed 2002 budget for the nuclear waste project -- By Benjamin Grove and Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • September 10, 2001 -- Public urged to attend September 12th and 13th Yucca Mountain hearings -- State of Nevada Nuclear Waste Project Office

  • September 10, 2001 -- The volcano that could threaten a nuclear dump  The American Department of Environment (DOE) has mounted one of the biggest risk-assessment exercises in scientific history. And risks don’t come much bigger than this — are the volcanoes near the Yucca Mountain, where the US wants to bury its nuclear waste, likely to erupt? -- By Anjana Ahuja (London Times)

  • September 07, 2001 -- Reid calls for another Yucca hearing  The Energy Department should hold at least one additional public hearing in Las Vegas on the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste plan, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., today wrote in a letter to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham -- By Mary Manning and Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • September 07, 2001 -- DOE lobbies for renewal of insurance plan  WASHINGTON - Congress needs to quickly renew a government plan that makes taxpayers - not utility companies - liable for catastrophic nuclear power plant accidents if cleanup costs spiral out of control, an Energy Department official told a House panel this week -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • September 07, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain: Reid wants DOE chief in Nevada  Still angry from the way the Department of Energy fielded comments on its plans to bury nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., appealed to President Bush on Thursday and demanded that Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham attend all remaining hearings -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • September 07, 2001 -- Legal protection in nuclear accidents debated  House energy committee discusses renewal of Price-Anderson Act, which is set to expire in August -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Reivew-Journal)

  • September 06, 2001 -- Locals rip DOE hearing  Pro-nuke speakers get first shot; more than 100 leave without speaking -- By Mary Manning and Jace Radke (Las Vegas Sun)

    Picture: Mayor Oscar Goodman vows to have arrested any driver transporting nuclear waste through Las Vegas during a public hearing on the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. Photo by Sam Morris

  • September 06, 2001 -- Nuclear Waste Plan: Angry Las Vegans blast DOE  In a hearing that was tense and packed with emotion, a long list of speakers led by Gov. Kenny Guinn and Nevada's congressional delegation on Wednesday night lambasted the Department of Energy's plans to bury the nation's most lethal nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

    Picture: Las Vegas residents work their way Wednesday into a standing-room-only venue at the start of the U.S. Department of Energy Public Hearing on the possible Site Recommendation of Yucca Mountain. Photo by K.M Cannon

  • September 06, 2001 -- Guinn to take Yucca case to Bush  Nevada politicians and residents at teleconference sites in Reno and Carson City Wednesday night blasted a proposal to bury 77,000 tons of radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain near Las Vegas -- By Elaine Goodman (Reno Gazette-Journal)

  • September 06, 2001 -- Public says no to nuke dump   NORTH LAS VEGAS - Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn began a crucial hearing on a proposal to bury the nation's nuclear waste about 90 miles from the Las Vegas Strip with harsh criticism and a vow to take his complaints to President Bush -- Nevada Appeal

  • September 05, 2001 -- County proposes funds to fight dump  Clark County commissioners on Tuesday proposed $1 million to join the state in its fight against storing high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain -- Las Vegas Sun

  • September 05, 2001 -- Yucca hearings set for today   LAS VEGAS - An extra digit on an official public notice won't stop a key Energy Department public hearing Wednesday on a plan to bury the nation's high-level nuclear waste in the Nevada desert -- By Ken Ritter (Nevada Appeal)

  • September 05, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain: Energy secretary skipping hearing  WASHINGTON - Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, citing a scheduling conflict, will not attend today's public hearing in North Las Vegas on the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, a spokeswoman said Tuesday -- By Tony Batt (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • September 05, 2001 -- Abraham won’t be at Yucca Mountain hearing  WASHINGTON — Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham has declined invitations by Nevada’s top elected officials to attend today’s public hearing in Las Vegas on making Yucca Mountain the nation’s nuclear waste dump -- By Doug Abrahms (Reno Gazette-Journal)

  • September 04, 2001 -- Lawsuit threatened as Yucca hearings near  Environmental activists say they will sue the Energy Department if the agency fails to delay a public hearing on a proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • September 04, 2001 -- Nuclear waste protesters hit Strip  About 40 protesters wore protective gear and wheeled barrels bearing radiation symbols along the Strip on Monday to encourage attendance at hearings on the storage of nuclear waste in Nevada -- By Lisa Snedeker (Associated Press)

  • September 03, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain foes see alternative   WASHINGTON - Even if it is developed into a repository, Yucca Mountain does not have enough room to store all the nation's projected nuclear waste; that is forcing lawmakers and scientists to look at technology that might reduce the amount of radioactive spent fuel placed in storage and how long it stays there -- By Tony Batt (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • September 03, 2001 -- Experiments test heat in Yucca Mountain   Scientists need to know how decaying waste will affect surroundings in a proposed repository -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • September 02, 2001 -- Nuclear waste repository: Abraham asked to attend hearings  WASHINGTON - Nevada lawmakers asked Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham Saturday to come to the state this week and hear for himself the views of Nevadans and others on the prospect of a nuclear waste repository opening at Yucca Mountain -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • September 02, 2001 -- Nonexistent address for hearing published  The Department of Energy on Friday published a nonexistent address as the location for a required public hearing on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project, the Federal Register shows -- By J.M. Kalil (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

    August

  • August 31, 2001 -- Nevada requests delay in hearings on nuclear dump   Gov. Kenny Guinn and Nevada's congressional delegation turned the heat up on the Department of Energy today, asking Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to delay hearings and extend a public comment period on the Yucca Mountain project -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • August 31, 2001 -- Nevada officials appeal for time   WASHINGTON - Nevada's governor and congressional delegation sent a letter Thursday to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham that seeks a 90-day extension for the public to comment on whether Abraham should recommend Yucca Mountain as the site of a nuclear waste repository -- By Tony Batt (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • August 31, 2001 -- UNLV studies may aid Yucca fight  Transmutation research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas could remove the need to ship thousands of tons of the nation's nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain, a Department of Energy scientist said Thursday -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • August 30, 2001 -- Guinn plans fight to halt public hearing on Yucca   Gov. Kenny Guinn says he plans to go to court today or Friday to stop a public hearing on Yucca Mountain unless the Energy Department agrees to provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to comment on the project -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • August 30, 2001 -- Guinn, Reid slam decision to shift site of Yucca hearing  Gov. Kenny Guinn told state lawyers Wednesday to explore grounds for a court injunction to block the Department of Energy from holding next week's hearing on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project at federal offices in North Las Vegas instead of a neutral location -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • August 30, 2001 -- Studies on Yucca Mountain frustrate NRC reviewers  WASHINGTON - Evaluators with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission expressed frustration Wednesday with work being done at the proposed Nevada nuclear waste repository because documentation from project scientists is unclear or lacking -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • August 29, 2001 -- Hotel won't host DOE  The Suncoast resort has canceled its contract with the Energy Department to host the first of three scheduled public hearings next week on a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • August 29, 2001 -- Yucca hearings to be televised  With their confidence in "sound science" all but evaporated, Nevada officials have fired off a flurry of letters that call for televising next month's Yucca Mountain hearings and that set the stage for the state to file another lawsuit over federal plans to bury nuclear waste there -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • August 24, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain OK for Nuke Waste  Moving one step closer to a permanent home for America's nuclear waste, the Department of Energy on Tuesday released a preliminary report suggesting Nevada's Yucca Mountain is a scientifically and environmentally sound site -- By Maria Godoy (ABC News)

  • August 24, 2001 -- Clinton: Look at nuke sites other than Yucca  Former President Bill Clinton said today the country should consider alternatives to burying nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain -- By Jeff German and Ed Koch (Las Vegas Sun)

  • August 23, 2001 -- Flaws in data could delay Yucca  Problems with scientific findings may cause regulators to miss an Oct. 1 deadline, which may delay Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham's recommendation of Yucca Mountain as the nation's nuclear waste repository -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • August 23, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain: Repository opposition bolstered  Two Nevada lawmakers bolstered their opposition Wednesday to the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in the aftermath of a federal report that says it would perform within radiation safety standards -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • August 22, 2001 -- DOE: Yucca waste would be safe  Nuclear waste buried 1,000 feet inside Yucca Mountain would pose no public health threat for at least 10,000 years, according to a preliminary report released Tuesday by the Energy Department -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • August 22, 2001 -- DOE: Yucca would make EPA mark   A report released Tuesday by Yucca Mountain Project scientists shows that a repository for the nation's most lethal nuclear waste will perform well within radiation safety standards set this year by the Environmental Protection Agency -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • August 22, 2001 -- List asked to reconsider decision  CARSON CITY - Three Democratic leaders in the Legislature Tuesday called on former Republican Gov. Bob List to reconsider his decision to represent the nuclear industry, which is promoting a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain -- By Cy Ryan and Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • August 20, 2001 -- Studies urged on nuke waste as terrorist target  Western governors, fearing the federal government cannot ensure the safety of nuclear waste transported to Nevada or Utah, asked for updated studies on terrorism and sabotage threats posed to spent fuel shipments -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • August 17, 2001 -- States grapple with nuke train trek  Politicians and protesters who oppose a federal plan to bury nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain conjure up frightening images of rumbling trucks and trains hauling thousands of tons of waste to Nevada -- By Benjamin Grove and Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • August 16, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain: Ex-governor promotes nuke dump  Former Nevada Gov. Robert List has begun work on behalf of nuclear energy interests to champion the position the industry's waste is inevitably coming to Yucca Mountain and it's time to negotiate for benefits -- dismaying public officials who see the move as a coup for proponents of a waste repository at Yucca Mountain -- By Jane Ann Morrison (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • August 10, 2001 -- DOE delays waste plan  Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham has delayed a plan to turn tons of plutonium into glass logs destined for a proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository because the cost of a conversion program exploded by $2 billion -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • August 04, 2001 -- Remote Nevada mountain at center of nuclear waste dispute   AMARGOSA VALLEY, Nevada -- Watch jackrabbits jerk across the bleak and baked landscape above the tunnel most likely to swallow America's nuclear leftovers, and the view alone seems to parch the throat -- By Scott Canon (The Kansas City Star)

  • August 04, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain: Law firm conflicts to be investigated  WASHINGTON - The Energy Department's inspector general agreed Friday to look into a law firm's possible conflicts of interest with the government's nuclear waste disposal program, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said following a meeting with the investigator -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • August 03, 2001 -- Guinn points to law firm in bid to halt Yucca work  WASHINGTON - Gov. Kenny Guinn has asked the Bush administration to halt work at the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository while investigators examine whether a government-hired law firm had a conflict of interest that could compromise the program -- Las Vegas Review-Journal

  • August 02, 2001 -- Guinn seeks halt of Yucca work  Gov. Kenny Guinn has asked Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to stop work at the proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain while an independent investigation is conducted into an alleged conflict of interest involving a Chicago-based law firm -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • August 02, 2001 -- Reid, Ensign seeking review of hazardous cargo shipments   Nevada's U.S. senators are calling attention to the dangers of shipping hazardous materials after the discovery of a damaged nuclear waste container on a truck en route to the Nevada Test Site -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • August 02, 2001 -- Budget Amendment Killed: Tight rein kept on Yucca spending  WASHINGTON - The Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project will stay on a slow track after House leaders on Wednesday refused to loosen budget rules to speed the program -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • August 01, 2001 -- House rejects Yucca bill: Legislation would have given DOE more authority  The House today scrapped -- for now -- legislation that would have taken Yucca Mountain project spending authority away from Congress -- By Benjamin Grove and Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • August 01, 2001 -- Leaked compound nonradioactive  A puncture in a shipping container allowed a foaming compound to trickle out of a metal box on a flatbed truck while low-level nuclear waste was being hauled from upstate New York to the Nevada Test Site, a state health official said Tuesday -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • August 01, 2001 -- Crack in nuke waste container discovered  The Energy Department will delay the transportation of low-level nuclear waste to the Nevada Test Site from a New York reprocessing plant after investigators discovered a crack in a container in the first shipment, a spokesman said -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

    July

  • July 31, 2001 -- Radioactive Waste Site: A Shift in Strategy  LAS VEGAS — After spending 14 years and $4.5 billion to figure out whether Yucca Mountain is dry and stable enough to entomb highly radioactive waste for 10,000 years, the Department of Energy is shifting its focus from geology to the protective powers of titanium and steel -- By Matthew L. Wald (New York Times)

  • July 31, 2001 -- Nevada wants Yucca lawyers probed  The law firm hired by the Energy Department to review Yucca Mountain documents -- and is now the focus of conflict-of-interest charges -- has begun an internal examination of the charges, the firm's chairman told the Sun today -- By Mary Manning and Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • July 31, 2001 -- Nuclear waste truck under investigation  A truck hauling low-level nuclear waste from upstate New York to the Nevada Test Site was detained Monday in West Wendover while inspectors determine if a foaming compound leaked from a container onto the truck's bed, authorities said -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • July 30, 2001 -- Plane crashes on Yucca study list  What is the chance of a military jet or space shuttle crashing into a proposed Yucca Mountain repository while a nuclear waste container is being loaded for burial? Or of a tornado wreaking havoc with radioactive canisters? -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • July 28, 2001 -- Subcommittee chairmanship: Reid boosts nuclear power control  WASHINGTON - Sen. Harry Reid this week gained oversight of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, adding to the Nevada Democrat's ability to influence energy issues and the Yucca Mountain project -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • July 28, 2001 -- Law Firm Lobbied for Nuclear Industry While Advising Government  WASHINGTON — The law firm hired to advise the Energy Department on how to open a nuclear- waste dump at Yucca Mountain, near Las Vegas, was simultaneously lobbying Congress and the administration on behalf of the nuclear power industry about crucial decisions involving the project -- By Matthew L. Wald (New York Times)

  • July 27, 2001 -- Law firm for DOE lobbied for Yucca Nevada lawmakers see conflict of interest  WASHINGTON - The law firm being paid $16.5 million by the Energy Department to complete legal work for its Yucca Mountain repository has been lobbying to get the project built -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • July 27, 2001 -- Rival law firm sues over DOE selection  WASHINGTON - Winston & Strawn, a Yucca Mountain project law firm, is not a stranger to conflict-of-interest charges. Two years after the Energy Department awarded the Chicago-based law firm a $16.5 million contract to review Yucca Mountain documents, it is still fending off allegations on several fronts -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • July 27, 2001 -- Proposed nuclear dump on Indian reservation criticized  WASHINGTON — Politicians have been debating for 15 years whether to make Yucca Mountain the nation’s nuclear waste dump, but there’s been little discussion on a site a few hundred miles away that could be on the fast track to receiving trainloads of nuclear waste -- By Doug Abrahms (Reno Gazette-Journal)

  • July 26, 2001 -- Abraham vows to keep Yucca on track  WASHINGTON - Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham on Wednesday again pledged to keep a plan to bury the nation's nuclear waste in Nevada "on track." -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • July 24, 2001 -- Hazardous shipment study sought  WASHINGTON - Seeking to draw attention to the dangers of shipping nuclear waste -- and to drum up opposition to a plan to bury it in Nevada -- Sen. Harry Reid is seeking a hazardous materials transportation study -- Las Vegas Sun

  • July 24, 2001 -- Amendment to study hazmat routes passes  WASHINGTON - An amendment passed Monday by the U.S. Senate directs the government to study the safety of routes used to transport hazardous chemicals and nuclear waste around the nation -- Donrey Washington Bureau (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • July 22, 2001 -- Experts: Volcanic activity no threat to Yucca  It's been 80,000 years since molten rock penetrated the surface near Yucca Mountain, 12 miles south of the place in Nye County where the government wants to entomb the nation's most lethal radioactive waste -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • July 20, 2001 -- Reid: Some Yucca Mountain money to return  WASHINGTON - Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Thursday he will agree to restore some of the $170 million he cut from the Yucca Mountain budget as Congress prioritizes energy spending for next year -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • July 20, 2001 -- Reid points to train fire danger  WASHINGTON - While soot-covered firefighters tried to contain a hazardous materials freight train fire in a Baltimore tunnel on Thursday, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the accident is another example of the potential dangers of transporting high-level nuclear waste -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • July 19, 2001 -- Study: Nuclear waste accident would be costly  A study by a Clark County consultant shows that a fatal accident involving highly radioactive waste in the Las Vegas Valley would expose more than 1,000 people to radiation and result in billions of dollars in residential losses -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • July 19, 2001 -- Slim Yucca budget set to advance  The U.S. Senate today was expected to approve a bill that contains the smallest budget since 1992 for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. Pro-Yucca lawmakers led by Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, said the budget was so small it would "basically kill" the project -- By Benjamin Grove and Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • July 19, 2001 -- Analysis: Nuke waste budget cut will cause layoffs, delays  WASHINGTON - If it is allowed to stand in Congress, a deep Yucca Mountain budget cut engineered by Sen. Harry Reid would force 650 layoffs in the government science project, indefinitely delay site licensing and make it impossible to begin burying nuclear waste in the state by a 2010 target, the Department of Energy said Wednesday -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • July 18, 2001 -- Yucca training to cost county $1 billion  If a high-level nuclear waste dump is built at Yucca Mountain, Clark County would have to spend more than $1 billion to train emergency crews to respond to a possible accident, a new report says -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • July 14, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain funding clears congressional hurdle  House panel approves bill containing provision easing way for Nevada project to be financed -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • July 13, 2001 -- Yucca project budget sliced  WASHINGTON - A Senate panel on Thursday slashed funding for the Yucca Mountain project, setting up a battle with pro-Yucca lawmakers -- By Mary Manning and Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • July 13, 2001 -- NUCLEAR WASTE: Reid uses influence on Yucca  WASHINGTON - Sen. Harry Reid, flexing his new muscles as a Senate leader, inflicted a deep budget cut Thursday in the government's pursuit of nuclear waste burial in Nevada -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • July 11, 2001 -- International nuclear waste information exchange planned  Researchers in the United States and around the world have agreed to participate in an information exchange that could one day change the way countries manage high-level nuclear waste -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • July 10, 2001 -- Bill focuses on nuclear waste fund  WASHINGTON - Members of the House Energy Committee are preparing legislation that aims to make it easier for the Energy Department to gain funding it needs to keep a proposed Nevada nuclear waste repository on track -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • June 09, 2001 -- The war over the West: Not in our backyard  Nevadans, battling a nuclear-waste dump in their state, now have a powerful ally in Senator Harry Reid -- By Douglas Waller (TIME.com)

  • July 07, 2001 -- Group opposes review of EPA's Yucca standards  Utility regulators say reopening decision records on radiation levels is unnecessary -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • July 07, 2001 -- Can Nevada bury Yucca Mountain?  Nevada's quest to lose its reputation as a wasteland didn't begin auspiciously in the new millennium. In fact, it looked as if the state was politically doomed to become the home for a nuclear waste repository that would remain dangerously radioactive for many millennia -- by Jon Christensen (High Country News)

  • July 05, 2001 -- State of Nevada, Clark County, and City of Las Vegas Comments of the Supplement to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a Geologic Repository for the Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada -- Nevada Nuclear Waste Project Office

  • July 03, 2001 -- EPA rule for Yucca Mountain faces two lawsuits  The state of Nevada Nuclear Projects Agency and a coalition of national and Nevada-based environmental and public interest groups filed separate lawsuits June 27, challenging the new radiation protection standards for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository -- Environmental News Network

  • July 02, 2001 -- DOE to rule on Yucca in fall  Scientific studies are incomplete and several lawsuits are pending, but the Energy Department is committed to making a recommendation this fall on whether Yucca Mountain is suitable as a high-level nuclear waste repository -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

    June

  • June 29, 2001 -- Plan to study Yucca routes fails  WASHINGTON - A Nevada effort to draw attention to routes where nuclear waste might be shipped for burial at Yucca Mountain failed on Thursday when the House of Representatives killed a call for transportation studies in the next year -- Las Vegas Review Jounal

  • June 28, 2001 -- EPA sued over Yucca standards   Nevada's Nuclear Projects Agency and a consortium of environmental groups filed separate federal lawsuits against the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday challenging the adequacy of the EPA's standards for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • June 28, 2001 -- Residents express fears over nuclear dump issue   More than 160 people, most of them opposed to a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, told Clark County officials to fight the federal project, but some supported it and begged officials to negotiate for benefits -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • June 27, 2001 -- Disclosure of nuclear waste routes is sought  U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., plans to insert an amendment to the House Energy and Water Appropriations bill today to force the Energy Department to publish nationwide high-level nuclear waste transportation routes -- Las Vegas Sun

  • June 27, 2001 -- DOE's ground water prognosis in question   New research shows that the Energy Department's calculations on the direction and the speed of ground water at a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository could be wrong, a state scientist says -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • June 26, 2001 -- EPA begins inquiry into radiation health standards  WASHINGTON - An independent investigator within the Environmental Protection Agency issued a call for documents Monday as he began an initial inquiry into radiation health standards the EPA set for the proposed Nevada nuclear waste repository -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • June 26, 2001 -- Tribe may have say in Yucca project planning  Having learned a lesson from nuclear weapons testing, the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe today becomes the second tribe to ask Interior Secretary Gale Norton to designate that it is affected by the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • June 25, 2001 -- Public invited to comment on Yucca  Clark County officials are inviting the public to voice their opinions on a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, at 3 and 6 p.m. on Wednesday -- Las Vegas Sun

  • June 25, 2001 -- DOE must study a volcano blast's effect on Yucca  The Energy Department has been ordered to estimate the consequences of a volcanic eruption at a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • June 25, 2001 -- Water worries beset nuclear site  Yucca Mountain, Nevada -- Deep beneath the desert floor, within a long, artificially lighted chamber resembling a BART tunnel, a crowd of helmet-clad visitors huddled over a grayish spot on the floor: a dried water stain -- By Keay Davidson (San Francisco Chronicle)

  • June 23, 2001 -- Yucca funding proceeds; $443 million about to pass receptive House  WASHINGTON - The House of Representatives is on a path to largely grant the Bush administration's budget request for the Yucca Mountain program next year -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • June 22, 2001 -- Yucca plan gains political support  The prospect of Yucca Mountain becoming a repository for the nation's waste gained political support Thursday amid the doubts of independent scientists who questioned the depth of the Department of Energy's study -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • June 22, 2001 -- Scientists: Chances slim that radioactivity could escape  Scientists told a technical review panel Thursday that the chances are slim that radioactive materials could escape through undetected flaws in nickel-alloy canisters at the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository -- By Keith Rogers

  • June 21, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain concerns continue  Comments made during a public hearing on the Yucca Mountain supplementary draft environmental impact statement at the Pahrump Community Center June 7, ranged from requests to extend the public comment period to suspicions the nuclear waste site managers changed the decision because the project won't work, to fear by one speaker of an outright nuclear megablast -- By Mark Waite (Pahrump Valley View)

  • June 21, 2001 -- NRC pushes for final Yucca design   The Nuclear Regulatory Commission wants the Department of Energy to stop dragging its feet on finalizing a design for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • June 20, 2001 -- Nye officials applaud EPA standards  County officials are applauding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's radiation dose standards for the Yucca Mountain Project, which they say should provide a higher level of protection for the drinking water used by residents in Amargosa Valley -- By Henry Brean (Pahrump Valley Times)

  • June 19, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain: Ombudsman might have jurisdiction   Environmental Protection Agency National Ombudsman Bob Martin launched a preliminary inquiry Monday to see if he has jurisdiction to probe complaints by Nevada officials and citizens regarding the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • June 18, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain Project: Nuclear expert: Politics tallest hurdle   Government contractor confident best science would be used in building repository -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • June 16, 2001 -- DOE extends Yucca public comment period  The Department of Energy on Friday extended the period for receiving public comments on a supplement to the environmental impact statement for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • June 16, 2001 -- Move would increase funds for Yucca project  WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is considering ways to loosen the purse strings on the Yucca Mountain project so the Energy Department can gain access to billions of dollars sitting in a nuclear waste trust fund now controlled by Congress -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • June 15, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain risks need to be tallied, NRC told  WASHINGTON -- The Department of Energy should give priority to measuring the likelihood that Yucca Mountain will meet health guidelines issued last week by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was told Thursday -- By Tony Batt (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • June 14, 2001 -- Experts spotlight Nevada Test Site's contamination  Widespread contamination from 35 years of underground nuclear weapons tests at the Nevada Test Site poses a more imminent threat to state water supplies than radioactive waste planned for burial in Yucca Mountain, scientists studying the problem said Wednesday -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • June 13, 2001 -- Bury hot waste deep underground, scientific committee recommends  A new report by the National Academy of Sciences says that countries should move forward with the development of deep underground repositories for the safe storage and disposal of spent fuel from nuclear reactors and other high-level radioactive waste from processing this fuel for military purposes -- Environmental News Network

  • June 13, 2001 -- Nuclear Dump's Foes Hopeful  Reid, Now No. 2 Senate Leader, Organizes Against Yucca Mountain -- By Greg Schneider and Eric Pianin (Washington Post)

  • June 11, 2001 -- Environmentalists back Nevada's fight against nuke waste  Environmental activists from across the country told Nevada officials Friday in Las Vegas that they support the state's fight against a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • June 09, 2001 -- YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Bryan returns to battle  Richard Bryan, the former Nevada governor and longtime U.S. senator who spent most of his political life battling federal plans to bury nuclear waste inside Yucca Mountain, returned to the trenches Friday -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • June 08, 2001 -- EPA rule subject to change: Legal clause allows courts to scrap radiation standards at Yucca  The Environmental Protection Agency's long-awaited, "finalized" radiation standards for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository are not absolutely final -- By Mary Manning and Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • June 08, 2001 -- Senator adjusts Yucca stance   WASHINGTON - One of the Senate's leading backers of nuclear waste burial said Thursday he would support more research into alternatives now that it appears Nevada has more clout to block bills that would ease development of a repository at Yucca Mountain -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • June 07, 2001 -- Senator: Yucca bills unlikely this year  WASHINGTON -- Any Yucca Mountain-related legislation is not likely to surface in the Senate this year, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., now the leading senator on energy issues, said Wednesday -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • June 07, 2001 -- Panel sees no need to rush in building nuclear dump   Deep geological disposal of high-level nuclear waste, such as a proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, is a long-term goal, but radioactive waste can be temporarily stored, an international scientific panel concluded -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • June 07, 2001 -- Industry sues to stop Yucca radiation limits  WASHINGTON -- A nuclear energy industry group filed lawsuits Wednesday challenging new government radiation limits for a proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, just hours after they were announced by the Environmental Protection Agency -- By Steve Tetrault and Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • June 7, 2001 -- Limit for Radioactive Leaks Is Set for Nuclear Waste Site  WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it had set a standard on how much radioactive waste could be allowed to leak from from a proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., opening the way for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to decide whether the site, about 100 miles north of Las Vegas, is suitable -- By Matthew L. Wald (New York Times)

  • June 06, 2001 -- Reid, Ensign say Yucca groundwater protection important for health and safety of Nevadans  Washington, D.C. – Nevada Senators Harry Reid (D) and John Ensign (R) today said that a newly published radiation standard for Yucca Mountain contains important radiation limits to protect groundwater under the site and called the move a milestone in the battle to allow the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to carry out the law -- Senator Harry Reid

  • June 06, 2001 -- Nevada: from viva Vegas to nuclear dump  The only sound is the humming of desert flies, the only movement is of lizards and ground squirrels, but in the wake of George Bush's stated intention this week to increase nuclear power and found a big national dumpsite for the resulting waste, this patch of other-worldly beauty in the Nevada desert is set to become the focus for a battle -- By Duncan Campbell (The Guardian, London)

  • June 06, 2001 -- Nevada hopes EPA standard will kill Yucca Mountain plan   LAS VEGAS (AP) - Nevada's two U.S. senators on Wednesday said the Environmental Protection Agency's groundwater radiation standard for Yucca Mountain could help derail plans for the nuclear repository -- Associated Press

  • June 06, 2001 -- DOE step makes Yucca more likely  The Environmental Protection Agency today reaffirmed its radiation standard for burying nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, but a change in the technical details may make it easier for the Department of Energy to build a repository -- By Mary Manning and Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • June 06, 2001 -- Residents say no to nuclear dump  More than 80 Southern Nevada residents Tuesday urged the Department of Energy to find alternatives to the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear dump -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • June 06, 2001 -- Hanford officials not waiting for Yucca outcome   Instead of waiting for a proposed repository at Yucca Mountain to open, the Energy Department has constructed three huge underground vaults at Hanford, Wash., to hold its plutonium-laced reactor fuel and radioactive liquid wastes -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • June 06, 2001 -- EPA sets standards for repository   WASHINGTON -- Final health and safety standards unveiled Tuesday by the Environmental Protection Agency nearly match Yucca Mountain radiation exposure standards set under President Clinton and add protections for groundwater flowing from the site -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • June 06, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain foes target above-ground storage plan  Yucca Mountain Project officials will have to persuade Congress to change nuclear waste laws to store spent fuel temporarily above ground -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • June 05, 2001 -- Gibbons pleased EPA will set Yucca safety standard   RENO, Nev. (AP) - The Bush administration will stick with radiation protection standards equal to or stronger than the ones the Environmental Protection Agency was preparing for Yucca Mountain under the Clinton administration, a Nevada congressman said Tuesday -- Associated Press

  • June 04, 2001 -- Reprocessing Used Fuel   WASHINGTON — Is it really waste? For years, nuclear engineers have argued that used fuel should be "reprocessed" to extract the uranium fuel that was not consumed and the plutonium that was produced in the reactor -- By Matthew L. Wald (New York Times)

  • June 04, 2001 -- New Focus on an Old Nuclear Problem  What to do with used nuclear fuel is a technical and political conundrum that is getting new attention as the Bush administration pushes for a greater role for nuclear power, while Senate Democrats say they will not agree to the longstanding plan to bury the waste at the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada -- By Matthew L. Wald (New York Times)

  • June 01, 2001 -- DOE explains nuclear project to Rotarians  After it was over, many in the crowd were still undecided about whether or not it was safe to store nuclear waste deep in a mountain in southern Nevada 90 miles from Las Vegas -- By Gary Begin (Elko Daily Free Press)

  • June 01, 2001 -- Senate leader's opposition to nuclear dump cheered in Nevada   LAS VEGAS (AP) - Opponents of a nuclear waste dump in Nevada are cheering incoming Senate majority leader Tom Daschle's declaration that the proposal is politically dead -- Associated Press

  • June 01, 2001 -- Alternate cooling process proposed for nuke waste   AMARGOSA VALLEY -- An alternate design of Yucca Mountain believed to do a better job of cooling the nuclear waste that would be buried there received a cool reception at a public hearing Thursday night -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • June 01, 2001 -- Daschle: Switch may stall bills that would affect Nevada  The upcoming power shift in the U.S. Senate could retard legislative efforts to bring nuclear waste to Nevada and ban legal wagering on college sports, incoming Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said Thursday -- By Jan Moller (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

    May

  • May 31, 2001 -- Errors in DOE plan raise questions  Errors found in the Energy Department's plan for a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain have raised questions about the agency's ability to oversee the scientific work that will determine whether the dump is built -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • May 31, 2001 -- Daschle says Yucca Mountain a dead issue  LAS VEGAS (AP) - Nevada got a boost in its fight to keep nuclear waste from being stored at Yucca Mountain when the incoming Senate majority leader on Thursday put up a formidable partisan roadblock -- Associated Press (Las Vegas Sun)

  • May 30, 2001 -- Nevada Nuke Dump Support Withdrawn  LAS VEGAS (AP) - A former Department of Energy official who drafted a proposal to make Nevada's Yucca Mountain a nuclear waste disposal site is withdrawing his support for the project -- Associated Press (Las Vegas Sun)

  • May 30, 2001 -- Nuke panel finds errors in DOE plan  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has identified numerous errors in the Department of Energy's plan for how a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain would perform over thousands of years -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • May 30, 2001 -- Berkley bill would divert Yucca funds  WASHINGTON -- Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., plans to introduce a bill next week that would divert all spending on the proposed Yucca Mountain project to alternative waste-management technologies -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • May 29, 2001 -- Ground zero in nuclear-power battle  Despite $7 billion in studies, debate rises over safety of Yucca Mt. as a radioactive storage site -- By Daniel B. Wood (The Christian Science Monitor)

  • May 29, 2001 -- Nuke waste containers corrode in water test  Energy Department scientists are wrestling with potential weaknesses in the metal chosen to store highly radioactive waste in a proposed repository at Yucca Mountain -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • May 25, 2001 -- Governor puts Bryan on nuclear panel  Former U.S. Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., has been appointed to the state’s Nuclear Projects Commission.  “I can think of no one who has Dick Bryan’s depth of knowledge and experience on every aspect of nuclear energy and his dedication to serving the people of Nevada is well-known throughout our state,” said Gov. Kenny Guinn, who made the appointment Thursday.  The commission was created in 1985 when Bryan was governor.  The group is charged with making recommendations to the governor and Legislature on nuclear projects and the disposal of radioactive waste -- Staff reports (Reno Gazette-Journal)

  • May 24, 2001 -- EPA ombudsman pledges to examine radiation standards The Environmental Protection Agency's ombudsman has promised to re-examine radiation exposure standards proposed for Yucca Mountain, if it is approved as the nation's nuclear waste repository - By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • May 23, 2001 -- Residents skeptical about access to Yucca hearings  PAHRUMP -- If Yucca Mountain is recommended as the site to store the nation's high-level nuclear waste, computers will make hearings to license a repository more accessible than previously possible, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials said Tuesday - -- By Mary Manning, Las Vegas Sun

  • May 23, 2001 -- Industry seeks 50 nuke plants   WASHINGTON -- The nation's nuclear utilities are preparing to build at least 50 power plants in the next 20 years, the industry's top officials announced today -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • May 22, 2001 -- State of Nevada - Letter from Bob Loux to OCRWM Acting Director Lake Barrett Requesting Extension of the Public Comment Period for DOE's Supplement to the Draft Yucca Mountain EIS (May 21, 2001)

  • May 21, 2001 -- DOE tracks water flow at Yucca   Government scientists are analyzing results of experiments at Yucca Mountain that could show whether rock fractures allow ground water to move faster than expected through the site of a proposed nuclear waste repository -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • May 19, 2001 -- Nevada nuclear dump in federal appeals court  A case heard in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals at San Francisco last week will go a long way toward determining whether the federal government can locate a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, despite overwhelming public opposition in the Silver State -- By Guy W. Farmer (Nevada Appeal)

  • May 18, 2001 -- Judge denies Nevada's request to join with firm that sued DOE   Nevada's request to became a formal ally of a law firm that has sued the Department of Energy was denied Thursday by a federal judge but the state will be allowed, however, to write legal briefs that will be considered at trial -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • May 18, 2001 -- White House considering Yucca limit for radiation    WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is still mulling a controversial radiation release limit standard for the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, three state officials said Thursday.  But a decision is "imminent," Bush aides told Gov. Kenny Guinn's chief-of-staff, Marybel Batjer, she said Thursday -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • May 18, 2001 -- Debate on nuke plant act is revived  WASHINGTON -- Congress should renew an obscure act that provides affordable insurance rates to nuclear power plants, according to one recommendation in President Bush's newly released National Energy Policy.  The Price Anderson Act, approved in 1957, was just one of 105 recommendations in Bush's strategy outline -- By Benjamin Grove and Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • May 18, 2001 -- Nevadans concerned about Bush's push to expand nuclear energy  RENO - Nevada lawmakers critical of President Bush's energy plan fear his push to expand nuclear energy would create more pressure to build a high-level radioactive waste dump at Yucca Mountain - By Scott Sonner, Associated Press (Nevada Appeal)

  • May 17, 2001 -- White House reaffirms EPA jurisdiction over Yucca standards   RENO, Nev. (AP) - White House officials reaffirmed the Bush administration's support Thursday for using the Environmental Protection Agency's radiation standards at a proposed nuclear waste site in Nevada, aides to Rep. Jim Gibbons said -- Associated Press

  • May 16, 2001 -- Agencies discuss radiation limits for Yucca   WASHINGTON -- Two high-ranking federal officials on Tuesday declined to discuss ongoing behind-the-scenes negotiating over controversial radiation release limits for the proposed nuclear waste repository in Nevada -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • May 16, 2001 -- Bush plan includes transmutation research  President Bush's energy plan to be unveiled Thursday includes research into transforming high-level nuclear waste into something less harmful, Nevada officials learned on Tuesday - By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • May 15, 2001 -- State of Nevada - Letter from Bob Loux, Exec. Dir., Nuclear Waste Agency  The letter to Lake Barrett, Acting Dir., OCRWM/DOE ins in response to a recent letter by Barrett that was sent to Governor Guinn as well as to ohter Governors and Legislatures in other states.

  • May 15, 2001 -- Nuclear waste storage battle heats up  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — As the Bush administration touts nuclear energy in the wake of California’s energy crisis, the federal government and Nevada squared off in court Monday over where to store 77,000 tons of radioactive waste -- Associated Press

  • May 15, 2001 -- Reid Criticizes Increased Budget for Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management  WASHINGTON, D.C. - At a Senate appropriations hearing today, Nevada Senator Harry Reid criticized the Department of Energy's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management for its continued cost over runs and mismanagement of the Yucca Mountain Project.

  • May 14, 2001 -- Water case goes to appeals court  A court case that would give Nevada control over whether to provide water to a nuclear-waste dump at Yucca Mountain will go before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today.  Federal appeals judges are scheduled to hear arguments in the United States vs. Nevada, in which the state claims it has jurisdiction in the issue of groundwater use at Yucca Mountain - Nevada Appeal (Carson City - Tahoe.com)

  • May 10, 2001 -- DOE faces unresolved Yucca issues  WASHINGTON -- Four critical issues under study at Yucca Mountain remain unresolved as the Energy Department this year finalizes plans to recommend the site as the nation's nuclear waste dump.  That's the opinion of the independent U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, Chairman Jared Cohon said Wednesday.  Cohon said DOE scientists have these important tasks left unfinished:
  • Understand how fast nuclear waste containers corrode.
  • Further evaluate the underground repository design.
  • Develop more evidence proving the repository safe.
  • Quantify uncertainties in the plan, including whether the overall proposal to bury 77,000 tons of high-level radioactive waste will work at all -- and for how long.
    By Benjamin Grove, Las Vegas Sun

  • May 09, 2001 -- REID Questions NRC members at nuclear oversight hearing   Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Harry Reid, Ranking Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, today questioned members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) about the future of nuclear power, waste disposal, and its role in undermining the issuance of a groundwater standard at Yucca Mountain - Senator Reid Press Release

  • May 09, 2001 -- Nuclear dump design undecided  Scientists: Issue need not be settled prior to recommendation -- WASHINGTON -- Scientists still are pondering designs of the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain and will not settle on a final configuration until after the energy secretary decides whether to recommend the Nevada site for radioactive waste burial, program officials said Tuesday - By STEVE TETREAULT, Las Vegas Review-Journal  (Related Story)

  • May 08, 2001 -- Cheney meets with Nevada senators over Yucca dump  WASHINGTON -- Vice President Dick Cheney met with Sens. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Harry Reid, D-Nev., today over nuclear waste and the future of nuclear power in the United States.  The three met in Cheney's office in the Capitol for a rare private discussion about nuclear waste and the future of nuclear power in the United States.  Cheney, who has the power to break tied votes in the evenly split Senate, agreed to meet with Nevada's senators for 15 minutes to discuss the state's high-priority issue - By Benjamin Grove, Las Vegas Sun  (Related Story)

  • May 07, 2001 -- DOE delays seeking Yucca license: Budget shortfall may hinder 2010 opening of site  Lack of funding has pushed back the Energy Department's application for a license to open a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain by a year and could threaten the proposed project's 2010 opening, a DOE official says.  The Energy Department needs $1 billion a year for the next seven years to get the project through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's rigorous licensing procedure, according to Victor Trebules, the DOE's Office of Project Control -- By Mary Manning, Las Vegas Sun

  • May 07, 2001 -- DOE report details threats to site  The Energy Department's 1,000-page "Yucca Mountain Science and Engineering Report," released Friday, summarizes the research on potential problems with water, earthquakes, volcanoes and nuclear reactions in a proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.  The report does not recommend Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository for 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste from commercial reactors and weapons activities.  Instead, it provides information to the public "on the secretary's consideration of the possible recommendation of the Yucca Mountain site as a potential repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-levelradioactive waste -- By Mary Manning, LAS VEGAS SUN

  • May 04, 2001 --The cost is now $58 billion for the repository at Yucca Mountain  Energy considers new design for nuclear waste dump, WASHINGTON (AP) - The government is considering a revamped, cooler design for storing thousands of tons of nuclear waste in Nevada with the changes adding nearly $12 billion to the overall cost of the project . . . . The latest design, compared to one tentatively recommended in a 1998 interim report, also now includes expensive titanium "drip shields" over the waste canisters to keep away water deposits -- AP

  • May 01, 2001 -- DOE's progress at Yucca to be revealed in report   The Department of Energy is expected to release a 1,000-page report Friday to explain progress on its studies at Yucca Mountain, the proposed high-level nuclear waste repository site.  The report will not be the long-awaited recommendation on whether a repository should be built at the site, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.  It is, rather, a review of the scientific work done so far at Yucca Mountain, according Lake Barrett, the DOE's acting director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management - By Mary Manning, Las Vegas Sun

    April

  • April 27, 2001 -- Yucca could receive added waste   If nuclear power use expands, a proposed repository at Yucca Mountain could end up with five to 10 times the amount of radioactive waste that has been set by law, an Energy Department official said - Las Vegas Sun

  • April 27, 2001 -- Study sought on Yucca Mountain itself  Independent scientists overseeing a study on Yucca Mountain are not convinced the mountain itself is a sufficient barricade in regard to reducing radiation levels emitted from nuclear waste - Las Vegas Sun

  • April 23, 2001 -- Probe: DOE not biased toward Yucca  A four-month investigation by the Energy Department's inspector general has found no bias on the part of the DOE in the Yucca Mountain site selection process -- By Jeff German and Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • April 21, 2001 -- ENERGY DEPARTMENT BUDGET: Nevada spending may rise  WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department is proposing a 13 percent spending increase for its Nevada operations next year, boosting its budget for nuclear weapons programs and waste disposal but cutting alternative energy research -- By Steve Tetreault

  • April 20, 2001 -- Tribe wants in on Yucca talks   Concerned about health and safety, the Timbisha Shoshone council said Wednesday it has asked Interior Secretary Gale Norton to determine the tribe is affected by the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • April 17, 2001 -- YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Nuclear waste fight raises some concerns  A lawmaker expressed concern Monday that a plan to take Nevada's fight against a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain to residents of other cities and states could backfire -- By Sean Whaley (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • April 13, 2001 -- Panel urged to warn other states of nuke transport dangers   CARSON CITY -- Alerting the citizens across the nation to the dangers of transporting nuclear waste through their cities is the key to stopping designation of Yucca Mountain as the site for burial of high level radioactive materials, witnesses told the Senate Transportation Committee Thursday -- By Cy Ryan (Las Vegas Sun)

  • April 12, 2001 -- Impact of nuke waste routes sought  CARSON CITY -- The health and safety of residents in 43 states could be seriously harmed if Congress decides to locate a high-level nuclear waste dump in Nevada, according to a resolution up for consideration today by the Senate Transportation Committee -- By Cy Ryan (Las Vegas Sun)

  • April 13, 2001 -- Clinton wary of Yucca safety  FALLON -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., said she is concerned about health and safety standards for a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, but added that she does not oppose the project 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • April 10, 2001 -- Allocations advance work on Yucca site   WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department's budget contains a 14 percent increase in its nuclear waste program, enough to largely complete studies in the coming year and begin writing a license application to open a repository at Yucca Mountain -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • April 10, 2001 -- More Yucca funds allotted  WASHINGTON -- The $1.96 trillion budget proposal President Bush sent to Congress Monday includes a 14 percent increase in federal spending on Yucca Mountain -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • April 09, 2001 -- DOE gets extension, but only three years, on use of Yucca land   The Air Force has granted a three-year right-of-way extension to the Department of Energy to continue studies at the proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain -- By Mary Manning and Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • April 06, 2001 -- Water damage sparks Yucca worries  Areas inside the exploratory tunnel at Yucca Mountain that were sealed off for six months developed so much moisture that electrical test equipment in the rooms shorted out, losing valuable data, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission report shows -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • April 05, 2001 -- Increased amounts of nuke waste to travel through state   The amount of low-level nuclear waste shipped to the Nevada Test Site is expected to increase about 60 percent this year, according to the Energy Department -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • April 04, 2001 -- Property values at risk if nuke dump approved   CARSON CITY -- Trucking nuclear waste through Las Vegas would lower nearby property values anywhere from 3.2 percent to more than 33 percent, a city official said Tuesday -- By Cy Ryan (Las Vegas Sun)

  • April 03, 2001 -- Berkley demands oversight money for Yucca Mountain   WASHINGTON -- Nevada needs $11 million in federal money from Congress to oversee the Congress-approved plans to establish Yucca Mountain as the nation's nuclear waste dump, Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., wrote in a letter to a key lawmaker on Monday -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • April 02, 2001 -- Dump foes cite rail safety concerns   RENO -- Opponents of a federal proposal to locate a nuclear waste dump in Nevada are voicing concern over new statistics that show an 18 percent increase in train derailments nationwide since 1997 -- Associated Press (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

    March

  • March 31, 2001 -- $5 million urged to fight Yucca dump  Governor's initiative designating funds to block nuclear waste repository sent to Senate panel -- By Sean Whaley (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • March 29, 2001 -- Nevada leaders focus on train safety report   WASHINGTON -- Nevada leaders are pointing to recently released national statistics that show railroad derailments are on the rise to focus more attention on the dangers of transporting nuclear waste to Nevada -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • March 28, 2001 -- Nevada stance a threat to dump  Nevada's dogged opposition to opening a nuclear waste tomb in the state is a serious threat to the program's success, a Senate leader on energy issues said Tuesday -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • March 25, 2001 -- YUCCA MOUNTAIN: The Science, the Law and the State   The Nevada Legislature is considering a request from the governor to appropriate $5 million which, according to the Nevada Nuclear Waste Projects Office, would be used for a public relations education campaign in 43 states that have potential routes for the transportation of spent fuel and high level nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain -- By Technology and Research Associates Corp. (Nevada Appeal)

  • March 23, 2001 -- Yucca measure loses backing of lawmakers   A Senate resolution lost support Thursday when 22 speakers voiced fears that it would send a signal to Washington that Nevada is ready to negotiate on harboring deadly nuclear waste -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • March 22, 2001 -- AG fighting O'Donnell bid for railroad to Yucca   Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa was expected to testify today against a state Senate resolution for a rail line to Yucca Mountain because the measure could send the message that Nevada might be willing to accept radioactive waste -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • March 20, 2001 -- Resolution on Yucca sparks feud  CARSON CITY -- Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa says a transportation resolution by Sen. Bill O'Donnell "sends the wrong message that Nevada is willing to accept a high-level nuclear waste repository" as long as the material is hauled by rail outside of Las Vegas -- By Cy Ryan (Las Vegas Sun)

  • March 16, 2001 -- Yucca measures controversial  CARSON CITY -- State legislators say their opposition to a proposed high-level nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain has not weakened despite introduction of resolutions urging Congress to find routes that avoid Las Vegas -- By Cy Ryan (Las Vegas Sun)

  • March 16, 2001 -- Nuclear waste fight vowed  WASHINGTON -- Nevada will be prepared to file lawsuits at every turn to keep radioactive waste from being buried at Yucca Mountain, a defiant state consultant told government and nuclear industry executives Thursday -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • March 15, 2001 -- Legislators readying anti-nuke waste measure  CARSON CITY -- Legislation to bar the transportation of high-level nuclear waste to within 10 miles of any city or town in Nevada is ready to be introduced today in the state Senate -- By Cy Ryan (Las Vegas Sun)

  • March 12, 2001 -- Zero tolerance urged for Yucca Mountain radiation   Environmental groups called today for standards that would prevent any radiation from escaping a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • March 09, 2001 -- Yucca could be costliest project in history  A cavernous tomb 1,000 feet under Yucca Mountain is designed to permanently store the nation's high-level nuclear waste, among the nastiest substances on Earth. Yucca Mountain could prove to be one of the most costly and unusual projects ever undertaken -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • March 09, 2001 -- Key GOP senators back off Nevada as site for interim waste storage  Republican senators who in the past have pushed an effort for temporary storage of high-level nuclear waste in Nevada before scientific studies of the permanent Yucca Mountain repository are completed now say they will not press for the interim measure -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • March 8, 2001 -- Legislature sends President Bush a resolution reaffirming its opposition to Yucca Mountain  With just two dissenting votes in the Senate, Nevada lawmakers Wednesday reaffirmed their opposition to any attempt to locate a nuclear dump in Nevada -- By Geoff Dornan (Nevada Appeal)

  • March 08, 2001 -- Nuke bill solicits funds to create waste option   Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., proposed a nuclear energy bill Wednesday that includes $120 million for technology to transform radioactive wastes into less harmful materials -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • March 08, 2001 -- Water law change may help Nevada  Idaho's Republican senators have introduced a bill that experts said would change Western water law, making it harder for the federal government to get water for Indian tribes and the wilderness while helping Nevada battle a nuclear waste repository -- Las Vegas Sun

  • March 07, 2001 -- Legislators spreading word on Yucca  CARSON CITY -- Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, said today that efforts by Nevada lawmakers to convince their counterparts in other states of the dangers of transportation of nuclear waste is "starting to pick up steam" -- By Cy Ryan (Las Vegas Sun)

  • March 06, 2001 -- Agency agrees to investigate claims of Yucca Mountain mismanagement  WASHINGTON -- The investigations arm of Congress has agreed to look into an anonymous six-page letter sent to lawmakers alleging major mismanagement within the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste program -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • March 06, 2001 -- Lawmakers suspect effort to ease radiation standard  WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency is facing new pressure to loosen standards for radiation exposure from the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, according to Nevada lawmakers and environmental activists -- By Steve Tetreault

  • March 05, 2001 -- Nevadans put more heat on Bush over Yucca safety rules  WASHINGTON -- Nevada officials are putting more pressure on the Bush administration to allow the Environmental Protection Agency, not the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to set safety rules for Yucca Mountain -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

    February

  • February 27, 2001 -- Energy chief assures Guinn on waste  WASHINGTON -- Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham assured Gov. Kenny Guinn today that he did not support temporary nuclear waste storage in Nevada -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • February 26, 2001 -- Scientists warn of quake risks in Southern Nevada   A major earthquake in the Las Vegas Valley could kill 300 people and cost more than $10 billion to repair the damage, according to preliminary studies of risk -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • February 26, 2001 -- Accelerators for nuclear waste outlined  Scientists at UNLV have come up with an alternative for waste from nuclear power plants that doesn't involve burying it in a proposed repository at Yucca Mountain -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • February 24, 2001 -- Reid requests nuclear waste e-mail probe  WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., added his voice Friday to calls for a congressional investigation of a letter whose anonymous author charges mismanagement by officials of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project -- Las Vegas Review-Journal

  • February 22, 2001 -- Official: New route needed to ship waste  CARSON CITY -- If Nevada is chosen as a site for nuclear waste, the Energy Department should build a rail route around Las Vegas to Yucca Mountain, Sen. Bill O'Donnell, R-Las Vegas, says -- By Cy Ryan (Las Vegas Sun)

  • February 20, 2001 -- Radioactive waste came through Spaghetti Bowl eight times  Lawmaker says shipments stir doubts about Yucca Mountain promises -- By Sean Whaley (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • February 19, 2001 -- Work proceeds on blueprint for Yucca repository  Scientists are in the final stages of designing a system of tunnels with the best possible chance of safely entombing high-level nuclear waste inside Yucca Mountain -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • February 15, 2001 -- Tighter radiation limits urged  Nevada's senators, governor and a dozen consumer and environmental groups are urging President Bush to keep stricter limits on radiation exposure at a proposed high-level nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • February 14, 2001 -- DOE official won't expand bias probe  The Energy Department's inspector general has denied Rep. Shelley Berkley's request to expand an investigation into bias on the Yucca Mountain high-level nuclear waste repository -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • February 14, 2001 -- LVCVA adds voice to anti-dump forces  The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has joined the battle against a proposed nuclear waste storage depot at Yucca Mountain -- By David Strow (Las Vegas Sun)

  • February 13, 2001 -- Investigation requested into management of proposed nuclear waste repository   LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada’s congressional delegation requested another investigation into the Energy Department’s management of the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump after an anonymous letter warned that the project is on the brink of failure -- Associated Press (Reno Gazette-Journal)

  • February 12, 2001 -- Another Yucca probe ordered  Another investigation was requested today into the Energy Department's management of the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository after an anonymous letter warned that the project is on the brink of failure -- By Mary Manning and Jeff German (Las Vegas Sun)

  • February 10, 2001 -- Anonymous letter critical of Yucca program  An anonymous letter to the Department of Energy's inspector general claims the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project and the agency that runs it are crippled by mismanagement, unnecessary travel and billions of dollars in unexpected costs -- Las Vegas Review-Journal

  • February 09, 2001 -- Expert disagrees with team over Yucca Mountain  While a team of geologists agreed Thursday that hot water existed in Yucca Mountain more than 4 million years ago, one member was still at odds over what data from a $1.4 million study mean and their significance in deciding whether to bury nuclear waste there -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • February 09, 2001 -- Guinn letter: Restore Yucca grant  Gov. Kenny Guinn sent a letter to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham today seeking to restore Nevada's $5 million federal grant to conduct scientific studies at Yucca Mountain -- By Jeff German and Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • February 08, 2001 -- City vows to battle nuke waste at Yucca  Hoping to succeed where other governments have failed, Las Vegas City Attorney Brad Jerbic promised Wednesday new arguments and a round of lawsuits to keep nuclear waste from coming to Yucca Mountain -- By Diana Sahagun (Las Vegas Sun)

  • February 04, 2001 -- NRC denies any bias about Yucca Mountain  WASHINGTON -- An official with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says staff scientists won't hesitate to reject a proposed repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada if they believe it unsuitable for nuclear waste storage -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • February 02, 2001 -- Anti-Yucca campaign gathers strength in LV  A nonprofit corporation will be formed to help Nevada tell the rest of the country about the dangers of nuclear waste, a Strip executive said Thursday -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • February 01, 2001 -- Water found below Yucca heightens concerns  AMARGOSA VALLEY -- The 5-mile-long tunnel that provides access to underground study sites at Yucca Mountain is damper than experts overseeing the project realized -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

    January

  • January 31, 2001 -- Nuclear waste recommendation stalled  WASHINGTON -- A recommendation whether nuclear waste can safely be buried at Yucca Mountain in Nevada is being pushed back by six months while project managers face an internal investigation and review suggestions for changes in repository design, a government executive said Tuesday -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • January 31, 2001 -- Probe delays DOE report on Yucca  AMARGOSA VALLEY -- An inspector general's investigation into a possible conflict of interest between the Energy Department and the nuclear industry has delayed the decision on whether to recommend Yucca Mountain as a high-level nuclear waste repository -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • January 31, 2001 -- Chamber set to pass its Yucca resolution  The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce today geared up to pass a historic resolution opposing the storage of high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain -- By Jeff German (Las Vegas Sun)

  • January 31, 2001 -- Scientist: French keeping open mind on nukes  AMARGOSA VALLEY -- Instead of zeroing in on a single remote site to study for dumping highly radioactive waste, a French scientist said his country is keeping an open mind on options ranging from reprocessing to storing the spent nuclear reactor fuel -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • January 30, 2001 -- Scientists to grill Energy officials on Yucca Mountain waste plan   A panel of presidentially appointed scientists will quiz Energy Department officials today on the government's plans to build a repository for highly radioactive waste in Yucca Mountain -- Las Vegas Review-Journal

  • January 26, 2001 -- City maps strategy for Yucca suits against feds   Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said the city's initial examination of potential lawsuits against the federal government appears to merit bringing the case to court -- By Erin Neff (Las Vegas Sun)

  • January 26, 2001 -- Yucca probe expansion sought  An investigation into possible bias in selecting a Yucca Mountain high-level nuclear waste repository by the Department of Energy should be expanded to include all contractors, Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said today -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • January 25, 2001 -- Federal agents in LV for Yucca probe  Agents with the Energy Department's inspector general are in Las Vegas investigating possible bias in the Yucca Mountain site selection process, a spokeswoman confirmed this morning -- By Jeff German (Las Vegas Sun)

  • January 23, 2001 -- Funds earmarked in Yucca fight  Gov. Kenny Guinn said today he hopes his pledge to set aside $5 million to fight nuclear waste storage in Nevada will rally the business community and local governments into matching those funds -- By Jeff German (Las Vegas Sun)

  • January 22, 2001 -- EPA toughens Yucca rules  On the final day of the Clinton administration, the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday released stringent radiation limits for a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • January 22, 2001 -- Reid lone dissenter at Abraham hearing     Reid told his colleagues on the Senate floor Saturday that he was opposing Abraham because of his "troubling record" on storing nuclear waste in Nevada, including Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas -- By Jeff German (Las Vegas Sun)

  • January 20, 2001 -- EPA issues tighter Yucca guidelines; Reid fears Bush will scuttle rules  RENO, Nev. - The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday proposed tougher health and safety standards than the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has recommended for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site in Nevada -- By Scott Sonner, Associated Press (Las Vegas Sun)

  • January 19, 2001 -- Lab kicks off program to transform nuclear waste  LOS ALAMOS, N.M. -- The idea is to take highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel and bombard it with neutrons that eat up the worst of the problem and leave only a small amount of highly radioactive waste and a large pile of low-level waste that can be buried in landfills -- Associated Press (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • January 19, 2001 -- Nevada will hold Bush to promises of keeping nuclear waste away   The volatile debate over the proposed nuclear waste storage dump at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain will continue during George W. Bush’s term as president, and state officials mean to hold him to promises made during his successful campaign against Vice President Al Gore -- By Jeff DeLong (Reno Gazette-Journal)

  • January 18, 2001 -- Reid fears new EPA administrator may roll back radiation standards  WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid said Wednesday he feared the incoming Bush administration would roll back radiation standards being written for the nuclear waste site at Yucca Mountain as part of a wide review of environmental policies advocated by President Clinton -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • January 18, 2001 -- Abraham vows to push ahead on Yucca plan  WASHINGTON -- The man tapped to be the next energy secretary today vowed to jump-start the slow-moving federal plan to bury the nation's nuclear waste in Nevada -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

  • January 12, 2001 -- 80,000 loads of nuke waste to travel near LV   Clark County planners estimate there will be at least 80,000 loads of deadly radioactive waste traveling through Las Vegas over a 24-year period to a Yucca Mountain nuclear repository. That's almost double a federal estimate -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • January 12, 2001 -- Tempers flare in Yucca discussion  A meeting to organize a communitywide campaign against the Yucca Mountain Project erupted into a shouting match Thursday over a strategy to warn the public about the prolific dangers of storing high-level nuclear waste in Nevada -- By Jeff German (Las Vegas Sun)

  • Friday, January 12, 2001 -- Effort to target nuclear waste  Las Vegas businessman Steve Cloobeck wants to raise an estimated $5 million to $10 million to launch an out-of-state media campaign to warn people of the dangers of transporting nuclear waste through their states -- By Jane Ann Morrison (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • January 11, 2001 -- LVCVA to vote on opposing nuke dump  The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority will follow the lead of the business community and formally join the fight against a nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain, the Sun has learned -- By Jeff German (Las Vegas Sun)

  • January 11, 2001 -- DOE official denies Yucca Mountain bias  WASHINGTON -- A top official in the Yucca Mountain program said Wednesday that, although a draft report should have been scrutinized more closely, an investigation will clear the Energy Department of charges it is biased in favor of the proposed Nevada nuclear waste site -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

  • January 10, 2001 -- New voice in Yucca fight   The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce will consider for the first time formally opposing the storage of high level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, the Sun has learned -- By Jeff German (Las Vegas Sun)

  • January 10, 2001 -- Mayor threatens to sue DOE over nuke shipments   Calling the agency's actions criminal, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said Tuesday the city may sue the Energy Department to keep nuclear waste from coming to Yucca Mountain -- By Erin Neff (Las Vegas Sun)

  • January 10, 2001 -- Joining of nuke lawsuits requested  The Department of Energy has asked a federal court to combine 14 nuclear waste storage lawsuits brought by electrical utilities so that a single judge can hear the case -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • January 08, 2001 -- Yucca design raises doubts  An independent scientific board is criticizing a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, saying the Energy Department cannot support its basic design -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

  • January 08, 2001 -- Guinn tells Bush of opposition to nuke site  Gov. Kenny Guinn said Sunday he voiced his concerns about storing high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain to President-elect George W. Bush during a weekend visit to Texas -- By Jeff German (Las Vegas Sun)

  • January 5, 2001 -- Guinn to meet with Bush  ; Governors to discuss education --CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn flies to Texas today to join other governors who will meet with President-elect George W. Bush about education - By Cy Ryan Las Vegas Sun (CAPITAL BUREAU)

  • January 4, 2001 -- Investigative team to see if documents violated laws  A team of federal investigators is expected in Las Vegas next month to begin probing whether federal laws were broken in the drafting of Department of Energy documents recommending Yucca Mountain as the nation's high-level nuclear waste dump -- By Jeff German LAS VEGAS SUN

  • January 3, 2001 -- Reid: Bush choice for energy no friend of Nevada  News of President-elect George W. Bush’s choice to lead the Department of Energy drew mixed response from Nevada state and congressional leaders Tuesday - By Jennifer Crowe Reno Gazette-Journal

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