January
January 30, 2004 – Yucca toxic dust afflicts workers –
Some early drillers got lung ailments despite warnings, whistle-blower says – Workers drilling the exploratory tunnel into Yucca Mountain in the mid-1990s were exposed to toxic dusts for several years before the Department of Energy established effective health protections, according to several former employees who have contracted lung ailments they believe are connected to their work – Las Vegas Review Journal
January 26, 2004, YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Nuclear waste lawsuits grow – Utilities want Energy Department to pay for missing deadline for repository– WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department is facing a new wave of lawsuits that could cost taxpayers billions of dollars because DOE missed a 1998 deadline to have a nuclear waste repository up and running in Nevada – STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
January 22, 2004  Remarks of Robert R. Loux, Executive Director, Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects to the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board’s Panel on the Waste Management System Las Vegas, Nevada – State of Nevada 
January 22, 2004 – YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Scientific evidence faulted – Nuclear repository design flawed, ex-member of review panel says –Yucca Mountain Project leaders are rushing to complete a nuclear waste repository design that lacks data and is flawed by weak science, an engineering professor who recently resigned from a key review panel said Wednesday. Paul P. Craig, professor emeritus of engineering at the University of California, Davis, said big problems loom for the government's plan to entomb nuclear waste 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas – Las Vegas Review Journal
January 21, 2004 – DOE plans to submit Yucca license bid by December – Energy Department officials told the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board Tuesday they still plan by December to submit the final licensing application for a Yucca Mountain repository – Las Vegas Sun
January 20, 2004 – Nuclear waste official resigns – WASHINGTON -- University of California professor Paul Craig resigned from the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board last week, saying he wanted more time to work on other projects but also wanted to leave the "enormously stressful" situation – Las Vegas Sun
January 15, 2004 – No knockout on Yucca – Nevada's hopes for definitive legal victory fade – WASHINGTON -- Nevada officials said this morning they believe a federal appeals court will allow the Energy Department to pursue a license to build the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository – Las Vegas Sun
January 15, 2004 – FEDERAL COURT HEARING: Yucca foes gain hope – WASHINGTON -- Federal judges weighing Nevada challenges to the Yucca Mountain Project reacted with skepticism Wednesday to some of the state's key arguments, but suggested they might look favorably on other claims that could slow the proposed repository – Stephens Washington Bureau
January 13, 2004 – Nevada set to make final Yucca stand – WASHINGTON -- Nevada's 20-year fight against Yucca Mountain will come down to three hours of arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington on Wednesday.
The state's legal team will argue that three federal agencies and Congress moved a proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca forward while violating a variety of federal laws and the U.S. Constitution. Lawyers for the agencies say there were no violations – Las Vegas Sun
January 12, 2004 – Yucca case to be heard Wednesday – The federal government says entombing the nation’s nuclear waste beneath an ancient volcanic ridge in the Nevada desert will be safe. Nevada says it’s a disaster in the making, and the state shouldn’t have to bear the burden of being the nation’s nuclear waste dump – AP
January 07, 2004 – Ensign cancels Senate hearing on Yucca route – Las Vegas Review-Journal
January 06, 2004 – For struggling rural county, Yucca route a tough call –CALIENTE -- On a slow Monday afternoon at the Knotty Pine Restaurant, co-owner Mel Robinson waits on two customers.
Asked about the Energy Department's recently announced preferred route that would bring trains carrying nuclear waste through the small town near the Utah border, Robinson says she believes that the federal government will win that fight and that folks need to accept it, as well as a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain – Las Vegas Sun
January 05, 2004 – NRC says Yucca issues are unresolved – WASHINGTON -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the Energy Department has not provided enough information to support its answers to questions the commission posed regarding Yucca Mountain – Las Vegas Sun
January 05, 2004 – DOE says it's doing its best to provide answers on Yucca plan – AP
January 05, 2004 – Lincoln County meeting tackles proposed rail route – Lincoln County commissioners were expecting a lively meeting this morning as residents got their first opportunity to speak out on the proposed rail line that would bring highly radioactive waste through the county on the way to Yucca Mountain – Las Vegas Sun
January 02, 2004– Critical year for Yucca – Court challenges considered pivotal in long battle over nuclear dumpsite WASHINGTON -- After a 21-year struggle, Nevada may finally know by the end of 2004 whether it can stop the nation's nuclear waste from being stored at Yucca Mountain – Las Vegas Sun
January 01, 2004– Goshute N-waste site on track as panel gives OK to rail line – Panel partially OKs rail line to deliver spent nuclear fuel – proposed nuclear waste storage site on the Skull Valley Goshute Indian Reservation in Utah's western desert is on a short track. An administrative panel of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday partially cleared the way for Private Fuel Storage to construct a rail line that would deliver spent nuclear fuel some 26 miles down the west side of Skull Valley, along the Cedar Mountains.–Desertnews.com
February
February 28, 2004 – Criticism of dump mounts – Yucca Mountain foes urge defeat of budget – WASHINGTON -- Environmental organizations launched new criticism Friday at the Yucca Mountain Project, urging Congress to investigate safety practices at the nuclear waste repository site and reject a budget increase sought by the Energy Department – Stephens Washington Bureau
February 27, 2004 – DOE under gun on Yucca questions – ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission may not have enough time to review all of the answers the Energy Department plans to submit to the remaining technical question on the proposed Yucca Mountain Project before the license application is submitted at the end of the year – Las Vegas Sun
February 26, 2004 – State threatens to sue Energy Department over funds – WASHINGTON -- Nevada has threatened to sue the Energy Department if it does not allocate an additional $4 million for the state's work on the Yucca Mountain project. Because of recent problems in receiving federal money as required by law, the state sent the department a detailed budget and a plan it wants to follow to avoid future conflict. If the department does not respond by March 15, the state assumes it will not give the state the money it is entitled and "will promptly seek a judicial remedy," Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects wrote in a letter to the department Monday – Las Vegas Sun
February 26, 2004 – More nuke waste to be shipped to Test Site –
Move troubles Nevada officials – CARSON CITY -- The Energy Department intends to sharply increase its truck shipments of what it calls low-level radioactive waste to the Nevada Test Site, and state officials say there's probably nothing they can do about it – By Cy Ryan - Las Vegas Sun ( More Coverage - Nevada Appeal )
February 21, 2004 – DOE begins probe into claim safety records were changed at Yucca – LAS VEGAS — Energy Department officials have initiated an investigation into whether notes were altered to misrepresent potentially hazardous dust levels at Yucca Mountain – Reno Gazette Journal
February 20, 2004 – DOE inspector general to review silica charges – WASHINGTON -- Allegations by a former employee of a Yucca Mountain contractor that she was ordered to change silica dust levels collected during tunneling operations will be reviewed by the Energy Department's inspector general's office – Las Vegas Sun
February 20, 2004 – Hearing in LV to focus on nuke waste rail route –
WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department's plans to ship nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain will be the topic of a March 5 congressional hearing in Las Vegas. After the department announced in December that it preferred the Caliente corridor route if it selected to build a rail line to move waste to the planned nuclear waste site, Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., requested a hearing from the House Transportation Committee on the subject – Las Vegas Sun
February 19, 2004 – Concerns About Yucca Mt. Leaks Echoed – RENO, Nev. - New data the past year substantiate decade-old concerns an independent U.S. panel of scientists have raised about potential leaks at a proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, the board's top administrator said Thursday – By SCOTT SONNER - AP
February 18, 2004 – Ex-nuke panel expert criticizes Yucca design – RENO, Nev. - The nation's nuclear waste dump proposed for Nevada is poorly designed and could leak highly radioactive waste, a scientist who recently resigned from a federal panel of experts on Yucca Mountain told The Associated Press on Wednesday – By SCOTT SONNER - AP
February 18, 2004 – Woman says she was ordered to falsify reports at Yucca Mountain – LAS VEGAS - A former employee of the company that built the exploratory tunnel at Yucca Mountain claimed she was ordered to falsify her reports on toxic dust levels in the tunnel where workers say they contracted lung diseases – AP ( More Covergage - Feb 20 - Probe of Tunnel Notes ordered – Las Vegas Review Journal )
February 17, 2004 – Nuke security study could affect Yucca fight –
WASHINGTON -- An ongoing study examining the security of nuclear waste stored at power plants could support Nevada's arguments against Yucca Mountain or it could give the Energy Department more reason to move nuclear waste to Nevada faster – Las Vegas Sun
February 13, 2004 – YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Test shows no dust hazard – State environmental inspectors find tailings from tunnel stable, in compliance – A pair of state environmental inspectors checked a massive tailings pile near the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste burial site Thursday to see if it posed a blowing dust hazard but found the project to be in compliance with the Clean Air Act. Las Vegas Review Journal
February 13, 2004 – Transfer of fuel rods 'not necessary' – Officials say on-site storage of waste safer than thought – WASHINGTON -- The risks of storing more used radioactive fuel rods from nuclear power plants in onsite pools are less than previously thought despite the new specter of terrorism, Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials said Thursday – Las Vegas Sun
February 12, 2004 – NUCLEAR WASTE PROJECT: Reid urges Yucca halt –Sen. Harry Reid on Wednesday called for an immediate shutdown of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project until inspectors can determine whether rock tailings piled near the repository tunnel pose health hazards – Las Vegas Review Journal
February 11, 2004 YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Official to check for toxic dust – Tailings left over from tunnel construction could pose hazard – Nevada environmental official will inspect volcanic-rock tailings left from construction of the five-mile tunnel at Yucca Mountain to see if the pile poses a blowing dust hazard at the planned nuclear waste burial site, the state's Environmental Protection Division chief said Tuesday. Las Vegas Review Journal
February 10, 2004 – Senators quiz Energy Department on Yucca budget – WASHINGTON -- Senators questioned the Energy Department's $880 million request for the Yucca Mountain Project today at the department's first hearing to justify its budget request for the next fiscal year – Las Vegas Sun
February 06, 2004 – Lawmakers welcome anti-nuke help –
Legislator from Minnesota opposes waste transport – Two Nevada legislators and an anti-nuclear activist hailed a Minnesota state lawmaker's promise Thursday to fight shipping radioactive waste through Minneapolis Las Vegas Sun
February 06, 2004 – Business leader warns of Yucca nuclear waste perils – The only thing that could stop another era of growth in Southern Nevada would be an accident in the transportation of nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain, a leading opponent of the proposed underground repository northwest of Las Vegas said – Las Vegas Sun
February 06, 2004 – State adds transportation expert to anti-Yucca team –
WASHINGTON -- Nevada has added a transportation expert to its legal team challenging the Yucca Mountain Project. Attorney General Brian Sandoval announced Wednesday the hiring of Reno lawyer Paul Lamboley, a former member of the federal Interstate Commerce Commission – Stephens Washington Bureau
February 05, 2004 – Repository foes worry congressman will get Energy – WASHINGTON -- One of Congress's most ardent supporters of nuclear waste burial in Nevada is in line to become chairman of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, lawmakers and lobbyists said Wednesday – Stephens Washington Bureau
February 05, 2004 – Nevada legislators hail Minn. lawmaker's nuke transit opposition – AP
February 04, 2004 – Tauzin's resignation won't help Nevada's Yucca fight – Las Vegas Sun
February 03, 2004 – Report on Yucca economic benefit paid for by Energy Department – A report that found the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository project will economically benefit Nevada with high-wage jobs was paid for by a $100,000 cooperative agreement grant from the Energy Department to the Harry Reid Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas – Las Vegas Sun
February 03, 2004 – DOE earmarks $23 million to study nuke transportation – WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department plans to spend $23 million to study how to move nuclear waste through Nevada, but it also made clear Monday that finishing the license application for the Yucca Mountain repository by the end of the year will be its first priority – Las Vegas Sun
February 02, 2004 – $880 million requested for Yucca – WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department has asked Congress for $880 million for Yucca Mountain in the 2005 budget, marking the largest amount it has requested in its plan to store nuclear waste in Nevada – Las Vegas Sun ( Related Story )
March
March 31, 2004 – Nevada lists nuke rail line woes – Planned transport would disrupt much in state – CARSON CITY – A proposed railroad line that would stretch from the Caliente area to Yucca Mountain for the transportation of nuclear waste would disrupt mining, ranching and recreational activities in Nevada, the state says – Cy Ryan, Las Vegas Sun
March 31, 2004 – DOE looks at trucking waste to Yucca site – Unsure when rail line will be complete, energy officials examine backup plan – WASHINGTON -- Unsure whether they can get a railroad built in time, Energy Department officials are dusting off a backup plan that would ship radioactive spent fuel by truck through rural Nevada for the initial years of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository – By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
March 26, 2004 – Nuclear waste transportation casks would survive Sept. 11 style attack, regulator says – WASHINGTON — The containers for carrying radioactive waste to the planned Yucca Mountain dump in Nevada would survive a Sept. 11 style airliner attack, the head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday – By Erica Werner, Associated Press
March 26, 2004 – YUCCA MOUNTAIN PROJECT: DOE seeks funding increase – But Nevada's representatives vow to stand in way WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department and supporters of the Yucca Mountain Project urged a House panel on Thursday to loosen the purse strings on the nuclear waste program, while Nevadans said Congress should, if anything, tighten its grip – Stephens Washington Bureau
March 22, 2004 – House panel to look into Yucca status – WASHINGTON -- A House subcommittee will address the status of the Yucca Mountain project and pending legislation that alters how the project gets money – Las Vegas Sun
March 20, 2004 – Congress to hear appeal to free Yucca money – Energy officials want access to $20.4 billion collected from utilities for nuclear waste storage – WASHINGTON -- Energy Department officials will make their case in Congress on Thursday for help in easing financial pressures on the Yucca Mountain Project. The House energy and air quality subcommittee is set to consider bills that would change the way the government's nuclear waste repository program is funded – By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
March 17, 2004 State sues DOE for loss of Yucca oversight funds – CARSON CITY -- Nevada filed suit today in a federal court, charging the Energy Department has shortchanged the state $4 million this fiscal year to oversee the development of a high-level nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain – Las Vegas Sun – Las Vegas Sun
March 16, 2004 Witnesses detail exposure to dust – Reid, others hear workers' testimony about Yucca tunneling – While Yucca Mountain contractors forged ahead at a record-setting pace in 1995 to drill an exploratory tunnel at the planned nuclear waste site, workers behind the giant boring machine were inhaling dangerous levels of toxic dust – Las Vegas Review Journal
March 15, 2004 – Yucca Mountain workers must register for silicosis screenings – Las Vegas Sun
March 15, 2004 – Yucca Mountain workers exposed to dangerous materials, DOE says – – AP
March 15, 2004 – DOE to detail screening program – Hearing to spotlight toxic dust exposure in Yucca tunneling – Lax enforcement of guidelines to protect Yucca Mountain workers from inhaling toxic dust while they drilled a five-mile tunnel in the mid-1990s has led to an aggressive program to screen thousands who might have been exposed, an Energy Department safety expert will tell a U.S. Senate field hearing today – Las Vegas Review Journal
March 12, 2004 – State won't give up fight against Yucca 'fantasyland' – WASHINGTON -- Nevada will not back down from its fight against Yucca Mountain through the upcoming Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing process, one of the state's lawyers told a room full of nuclear industry officials Thursday – Las Vegas Sun
March 12, 2004 – Energy's Abraham questioned – Lawmakers on House panel say budget plans for Yucca Mountain inadequate, risky – WASHINGTON -- Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham faced tough questioning Thursday from the chairman and members of a House panel who complained next year's budget request for Yucca Mountain is inadequate and risky – Stephens Washington Bureau
March 11, 2004 – Lawsuit claims workers at nuke dump in Nevada hurt by toxic dust – LAS VEGAS - A former tunnel worker at the nation's nuclear waste dump in the Nevada desert filed suit Thursday against Energy Department contractors, claiming the companies deliberately exposed employees to toxic dust at the Yucca Mountain project – By KEN RITTER AP
March 09, 2004 – Science panel in Las Vegas studying geology of Nevada nuke dump – LAS VEGAS - It was wet 10,000 years ago in the Nevada desert near where the federal government plans to bury the nation's nuclear waste, and climate changes could make it wetter again in about 600 years, scientists told a federal panel Tuesday – Las Vegas Sun
March 09, 2004 – Senator wants full Yucca Mountain funding – Domenici's amendment would undo deal negotiated by Ensign – WASHINGTON --- Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., is working on an amendment that would allow the Yucca Mountain Project to get the full $880 million requested by the Energy Department.
If successful, the measure would undo a deal struck by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., to cap the project's funding in the budget resolution to $577 million, or $303 million less – By Suzanne Struglinski , LAS VEGAS SUN
March 09, 2004 – Official says sufficient Yucca funding crucial – DOE still plans to pursue request for record increase for project despite panel's OK of cuts – Stephens Washington Bureau
March 06, 2004 – YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Rail corridor plan faces scrutiny – The Department of Energy is putting "the caboose before the engine" by proceeding with plans to withdraw land or seek a right of way for a 319-mile railroad corridor in rural Nevada to haul nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain, a state official told a House subcommittee Friday. The department intends to first select the route known as the Caliente Corridor or another route and to ask questions about environmental and safety concerns later, said state Nuclear Projects Agency chief Bob Loux – Las Vegas Review Journal
March 04, 2004 – Yucca foes see hearing as opportunity – Congressional committee will hear testimony in Las Vegas – WASHINGTON -- A congressional committee will try to sort through the Energy Department's plans for shipping nuclear waste to Nevada at a hearing in Las Vegas on Friday – Las Vegas Sun
March 04, 2004 – Reid to sponsor Senate hearing on silicosis – WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department's lack of silica protection for former Yucca Mountain project workers will be topic of a Senate hearing to take place March 15 – Las Vegas Sun
March 04, 2004 – Nevadans say panel shouldn't consider Yucca budget proposal – WASHINGTON -- The House Budget Committee should not consider an increase in funds or a proposal to change how the Energy Department receives money for the Yucca Mountain project, Nevada's members of the House of Representatives said Wednesday – Las Vegas Sun
March 03, 2004 – Expert: Yucca launch date will likely be delayed – Engineering consultant says nuclear waste repository won't be ready until at least 2015 – WASHINGTON -- The Department of Energy is underestimating the time it will need to license and open a nuclear waste repository in Nevada, according to an industry expert who said Tuesday a projected 2010 launch date could be delayed by five years "at the earliest." – Stephens Washington Bureau
April
April 29, 2004 – GAO report criticizes Yucca methods – Las Vegas Sun
April 28, 2004 – Quality problems remain, audit says –
DOE protests Yucca Mountain criticism – WASHINGTON -- A major report set for release this week says the Energy Department is failing to fix persistent technical and management problems on the Yucca Mountain Project, according to a draft copy obtained Tuesday – Las Vegas Review Journal
April 27, 2004 – Legality of Yucca meetings eyed – Officials look into closed-door discussions on proposed routes – The state attorney general's office is looking into whether a board studying a proposed railroad line from Caliente to Yucca Mountain may have broken state open-meeting laws by barring local residents and media from its meetings – By Stephen Curran LAS VEGAS SUN.
April 27, 2004 – Officials point to cuts in New Mexico's funding – WASHINGTON – The Energy Department's elimination of funding for a New Mexico watchdog group illustrates why Nevada would not negotiate for federal benefits in exchange for accepting a high-level waste dump at Yucca Mountain, officials say – By Suzanne Struglinski Las Vegas Sun - WASHINGTON BUREAU
April 27, 2004 – DOE gives extra week to comment on Yucca Mountain rail plan – AP
April 27, 2004 – Gibbons wants details on security strategies for Yucca shipments –
April 25, 2004 – YUCCA MOUNTAIN RAIL LINE: Residents oppose route – Most see effort to grab swath of land latest in long line of government abuses – Las Vegas Review Journal
April 23, 2004 – Nevada asks environmental council to intervene in Yucca rail plan – LAS VEGAS - Nevada has registered a new complaint about the Yucca Mountain project, claiming the Energy Department has gotten ahead of itself planning a 319-mile rail line to the site where it wants to bury the nation's nuclear waste – AP
Read the Attorney Generals Letter to the CEQ
April 23, 2004 – Yucca rail line raises legal question – WASHINGTON -- Nevada officials say the Energy Department has violated federal law by not including the Surface Transportation Board in its plans to build a new rail line in the state – By Suzanne Struglinski SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU ( Related Story )
April 22, 2004 – YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Technical documents facing close scrutiny – Review could delay licensing for nuclear waste repository – WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department has launched a broad review of technical documents for the Yucca Mountain Project after auditors turned up shortcomings that could delay licensing for the nuclear waste repository By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
April 22, 2004 – Reid planning delay tactic – Senator's choice for Nuclear Regulatory Commission panel held up – WASHINGTON -- Announcing he has run out of patience, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he will block bills and nominees for environmental posts until the Senate schedules a hearing for one of his aides to join the Nuclear Regulatory Commission – By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
April 22, 2004 – Yucca hearing period longer –
Nevada lawmakers seek even more time – Soon after Nevada's congressional delegation asked the Department of Energy on Wednesday to extend the comment period and offer more public meetings on its plan for building a nuclear-waste rail line, the federal agency, by coincidence, did just that. But the additional time of one week, from May 24 to June 1, was not the additional 45 days the delegation has sought for fielding comments on what to include in the Caliente rail corridor environmental impact statement - By KEITH ROGERS, Las Vegas Review Journal
April 20, 2004 – Plans to guard shipments questioned – CARSON CITY -- A federal official expressed doubt Monday that the Energy Department has developed plans to guard against terrorist attacks on trains or trucks loaded with nuclear waste bound for Yucca Mountain. Mark Abkowitz, a member of the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, told the Legislative Committee on High-Level Radioactive Waste that the review board is to oversee the Energy Department. He said he was not sure if the Energy Department has "fully explored" the new ways terrorists can attack these shipments – Cy Ryan Las Vegas Sun
April 14, 2004 – Auditors find flaws in Yucca documents –
Discovery could snarl DOE's license bid – WASHINGTON -- Auditors said Tuesday they discovered flaws and shortcomings in technical documents the Energy Department is preparing for the Yucca Mountain Project, a finding that could complicate the department's bid to license a nuclear waste repository.
– By STEVE TETREAULT, STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
April 09, 2004 – $2 million OK'd for legal battle against dump – CARSON CITY -- The Legislative Interim Finance Committee on Thursday released $2 million for the state to continue its legal battle to stop Yucca Mountain, the site of a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository – By Cy Ryan - Las Vegas Sun
April 09, 2004 – Lawyers may spend $12 mil. for Yucca license preparation – WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department's hired law firm can collect up to $12 million this year to prepare the license application for the Yucca Mountain project, according to its contract. That compares with $1 million allocated to Nevada for Yucca Mountain oversight, which includes license application work, Nevada officials say. The state sued the Energy Department last month for an additional $4 million to effectively participate in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing process –
By Suzanne Struglinski, Las Vegas Sun
April 09, 2004 – YUCCA MOUNTAIN: DOE defends hauling nuclear waste by rail – 1,000 other shipments would go on truck trailers, report says – WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department on Thursday defended its choice to ship most nuclear waste by railroad to a Yucca Mountain repository, stating in a formal notice that rail would be safer and less disruptive than shipments of radioactive material by truck – By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
April 09, 2004 – Extension sought on comment period –
WASHINGTON -- Nevada's senators on Thursday demanded more time for state residents to comment on a government plan to set aside public land for a possible railroad to Yucca Mountain. An official public comment period should be extended another 90 days before the Interior Department decides to withdraw federal land for the study, according to Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev - By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
April 08, 2004 – Federal Register Notice – DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY – Record of Decision on Mode of Transportation and Nevada Rail Corridor for the Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, NV – Adobe PDF File
April 08, 2004 – Federal Register Notice – DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY – Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Alignment, Construction, and Operation of a Rail Line to a Geologic Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, NV — Adobe PDF File
April 05, 2004 – DOE picks rail option, Caliente corridor to Nevada nuke dump – LAS VEGAS (AP) - Radioactive waste bound for a planned national nuclear dump in Nevada would be transported by trains on a 319-mile rail line to be built across the state, the federal government announced Monday – AP ( More Coverage - Las Vegas Review Journal )
April 05, 2004 – Battle lines form over fed funds for project – WASHINGTON -- The Yucca Mountain project, which would build a place to bury the nation's high-level nuclear waste in Nevada by 2010, will need a $1.4 billion annual budget by 2007, and it will need more yearly after that, according to Energy Department estimates – By Suzanne Struglinski Las Vegas Sun - WASHINGTON BUREAU
April 05, 2004 YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Railroad secrecy irks state –
Officials set aside more than 300 miles of Nevada land for hauling nuclear waste – The Department of Energy has kept ranchers, miners and rural Nevada residents in the dark about its plan to withdraw more than 300 miles of public land to study a rail corridor for hauling nuclear waste from Caliente to Yucca Mountain, state officials contend in comments about the proposal – By KEITH ROGERS
Las Vegas Review Journal
April 03, 2004 – YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Ex-NTSB official discusses shipping issues – Former chairman calls for shipment of oldest waste first –
WASHINGTON -- If and when nuclear waste is transported to Yucca Mountain, it would be safer to move the oldest waste first, a former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday – By TONY BATT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
May
May 28, 2004 – Eureka County Scoping Comments – DOE's Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Alignment, Construction, and Operation of a Rail Line to a Geologic Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada
May, 2004 – State of Nevada Comments on DOE’s Notice of Intent to Prepare and Environmental Impact Statement for Alignment, Construction, and Operation of a Rail Line to a Geologic Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada (121 pages - 980KB)
May 28, 2004 – Agency chairman predicts four-year review of Yucca –
NRC says plans too complex to rush through – WASHINGTON -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission probably will take a full four years to review the government's bid to open a nuclear waste repository in Nevada, the agency chairman said Thursday –
By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
May 27, 2004 – Energy secretary warns of layoffs if budget is cut – Nevada legislators say letter a scare tactic to get more money for Yucca Mountain – WASHINGTON -- Almost 1,700 workers would face layoffs in Nevada and in other states this summer if Congress forces a deep budget cut in the Yucca Mountain Project, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham has told lawmakers þ By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
May 26, 2004 – DOE might miss Yucca deadline –WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department has four weeks to process more than 5 million e-mails and documents for its Yucca Mountain license application, and an internal audit found that problems with document handling could prevent the department from meeting its Dec. 23 deadline for submitting the application – By Suzanne Struglinski SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU
May 25, 2004 – NRC urged to ignore features of Yucca dump – State says it is unclear when or even if planned drip shields will be installed – WASHINGTON -- Nevada officials have previewed one of their arguments to persuade government regulators to refuse a license for the Yucca Mountain Project. The state says the Nuclear Regulatory Commission should disregard planned features of the proposed nuclear waste repository because it is unclear when they will be installed, if at all. At issue are drip shields the Energy Department says will help prevent radioactive particles from escaping into the environment – By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
May 25, 2004 – BLM to hold public meetings on proposal for Yucca rail line – Las Vegas Review Journal
May 20, 2004 – Officials brace for cuts in Yucca budget –
Lawmaker repeats warning of deep reductions, says Bush administration took 'poor gamble' – WASHINGTON -- Energy Department officials are weighing the impact of potentially deep budget cuts in the Yucca Mountain Project, making calculations of layoffs and delays for the proposed nuclear waste repository – By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
May 18, 2004 – Lincoln not saying yes to Yucca – The Lincoln County commission on Monday voted to soften language in its official reaction to an environmental study for a rail line to the proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain – Las Vegas Sun
May 18, 2004 – YUCCA MOUNTAIN PROJECT: DOE takes comment on plan –
Responses mixed on transportation of nuclear waste – For the fifth time this month, Department of Energy officials on Monday brought out their maps and displays on how they plan to build a 319-mile railroad to haul nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain – Las Vegas Review Journal
May 17, 2004 – Tiny Nevada town split by proposed nuclear railroad – AP
May 14, 2004 – Lawsuit warns of Yucca train troubles – Las Vegas Sun
May 12, 2004 – State test shows corrosion at Yucca – Water would corrode nuke waste casks – WASHINGTON -- Scientists working for Nevada staged an experiment this morning that showed that water will not only drip through the rock and onto nuclear waste canisters stored at Yucca Mountain but mineral deposits from the water will cause the canisters to corrode – By Suzanne Struglinski, Las Vegas Sun, WASHINGTON BUREAU
May 11, 2004 – NRC authorizes nuclear cask testing –
WASHINGTON -- Seeking to boost public confidence in radioactive waste handling, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has authorized new safety testing of a full-sized cask designed to carry spent nuclear fuel to Yucca Mountain – By STEVE TETREAULT, STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
May 06, 2004 – TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM: Yucca waste shipments to dwarf past – DOE estimates shipping 3,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel annually for 24 years – WASHINGTON -- Over three decades, 2,500 tons of spent nuclear fuel was shipped in the United States, an amount that would be eclipsed in only a single year of operations for the Yucca Mountain Project, an expert science panel was told Wednesday – By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
May 06, 2004 – Arguments for, against rail line made – Some ranchers oppose DOE waste plan; others say economic benefits will be reaped – CALIENTE -- The railroad the Department of Energy wants to build in this historic train town is causing the biggest stir since tracks were first laid here 104 years ago – Las Vegas Review Journal
May 06, 2004 – NRC criticized for failing to involve public in Yucca audit – State, local officials say process invites questions about objectivity – As the Energy Department works to address shortcomings revealed by an audit of technical reports it is preparing for the Yucca Mountain Project, state and local officials are criticizing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the way that audit was conducted – Las Vegas Review Journal
May 05, 2004 – Yucca splits race, parties – WASHINGTON -- The party lines being drawn for the presidential race in Nevada have a landmark -- Yucca Mountain – Las Vegas Sun
May 05, 2004 – Yucca contractor may get $85 million in bonuses – Rewards for meeting deadlines, performance incentives add up on nuclear waste repository – By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
May 04, 2004 – Money OK'd for Yucca rail study – The Lincoln County Commission on Monday unanimously approved a plan to disperse $255,000 from the Energy Department for a three-county board to study a proposed rail corridor to Yucca Mountain – Las Vegas Sun
May 04, 2004 – DOE shows residents nuclear waste route –
Views mixed on rail line to Yucca Mountain – AMARGOSA VALLEY -- With mixed reviews and in a room lined with colorful displays, charts and maps, Department of Energy officials rolled out their plan Monday for building a 319-mile rail line to haul the nation's most potent nuclear waste from Caliente to a yet-to-be-built repository at Yucca Mountain – Las Vegas Review Journal
May 01, 2004 – NEVADA REPUBLICAN PARTY CONVENTION: GOP rethinks Yucca battle – Las Vegas Review Journal
May 01, 2004 – Rural panel wants funds to study Yucca Mountain plan – LAS VEGAS - A panel comprised of members from three rural Nevada counties wants $330,000 to conduct studies of a proposed rail line that would carry nuclear waste shipments to a planned repository at Yucca Mountain. The Central Nevada Community Protection Working Group would also use the cash to survey people who live near the proposed rail line as well as to gauge the route's economic impact, the Las Vegas Sun reported Friday – AP
June
July
July 30, 2004 – NUCLEAR WASTE STORAGE: Scientists shift view on Yucca –Potential corrosion of canisters now of less concern to review board – WASHINGTON -- Prominent scientists have shifted their stance on a key element of the Yucca Mountain repository, saying they no longer fear that corrosive brines could penetrate nuclear waste canisters and cause radioactive particles to leak within relatively short periods – By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
July 28, 2004 – Democratic Party united in opposition to Yucca – BOSTON -- The Democratic Party passed its platform Tuesday with a pledge to protect Nevada from the proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas – By Suzanne Struglinski Las Vegas Sun WASHINGTON BUREAU
July 28, 2004 – Support for fighting repository grows slightly –
Court ruling invalidating Yucca Mountain containment standards has little effect on opinions, poll finds. State leaders called it a victory for Nevada and a significant blow to plans to bury the nation's most lethal nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. But appetite for the state's fight against the project increased only slightly in the wake of the July 9 federal court ruling that invalidated containment standards for the repository. – Las Vegas Review Journal
July 28, 2004 – Panel hears complaints about Yucca database –
Nuclear repository documents unavailable, Nevada critics say – WASHINGTON -- Energy Department attorneys faced tough questioning Tuesday on DOE's handling of an electronic document database for the Yucca Mountain Project. Three administrative judges challenged the department's work to gather millions of documents and make them available on the Internet in preparation for licensing hearings on the proposed nuclear waste repository – By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
July 23, 2004 – YUCCA MOUNTAIN: State seeks money to fight repository –
Managers apply for $13.75 million grant, ask Clark County to help finance battle –WASHINGTON -- Nevada is running short of money to challenge the government's licensing bid for a Yucca Mountain repository, a state official and attorneys said Thursday as they applied for a $13.75 million grant to continue the effort – By STEVE TETREAULT, STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
July 21, 2004 – NRC may delay its evaluation of Yucca –
Licensing process up in air as radiation standard sorted out – ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission may have to delay its evaluation of the Yucca Mountain project license application, Commissioner Edward McGaffigan said today – Las Vegas Sun
July 13, 2004 – Yucca project work to proceed – Ruling on health standards on hold as appeals play out – ; WASHINGTON -- A one-paragraph court order issued as Nevadans were celebrating a federal appeals court ruling on the Yucca Mountain Project will allow work to continue on the nuclear waste repository, at least for the time being, attorneys said – By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
July 13, 2004 – DAMAGE CLAIMS: Nuclear waste trials starting –
Three utilities seek money from government for its failure to build central storage site – WASHINGTON -- The government's failure to open a dump site for commercial nuclear waste could expose taxpayers to tens of billions of dollars in damages . One of the first in an expected string of trials to determine exactly how much began Monday in a courtroom across the street from the White House – AP
July 09, 2004 – Yucca in for long delay; radiation standard too low – Federal appeals court says 10,000 years is insufficient – WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court handed Nevada a major victory this morning, ruling that a key standard for the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository was incorrect, which could set the project back indefinitely By Suzanne Struglinski, Las Vegas Sun, Washington Bureau (Editorial - Columnist Jeff German - Las Vegas Sun)
July 09, 2004 – Panel to evaluate state's challenge of Yucca database – WASHINGTON -- A three-person panel will evaluate the state's challenges to the Energy Department's Yucca Mountain project document database. Federal law requires only one officer to evaluate them – Las Vegas Sun
July 08, 2004 – Nevada's anti-Yucca attorneys gearing up for license fight – WASHINGTON -- Nevada attorneys plan to file their complaints about the Energy Department's Yucca Mountain document database by the end of the week, now that a person has been appointed to handle the complaints – Las Vegas Sun
July 08, 2004 – NRC names hearing officers for DOE Yucca Mountain filings – AP
July 03 – Yucca Web site criticized – Environmentalists call data incomplete – WASHINGTON -- Seventeen environmental organizations on Friday called on the Energy Department to withdraw its certification of a Yucca Mountain licensing database, claiming the material is incomplete and inaccessible to the public – Stephens Washington Bureau
July 02, 2004 – YUCCA MOUNTAIN PROJECT: Internet database missing documents – NRC official says only portion of documents available for posting – WASHINGTON -- Although the Energy Department this week certified a database crucial to the licensing of the Yucca Mountain Project, only a portion of the documents are available for posting, officials said Thursday – By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
July 01, 2004 – DOE to release Yucca documents – 5.6 million pages: Documents will be part of the permit application process – WASHINGTON — The government is making available to the public 1.2 million documents related to the federal proposal to build a nuclear waste facility at Yucca Mountain in Nevada – AP
August
August 31, 2004 – NRC Licensing Board Denies DOE Yucca Mountain LSN Certification
 NRC Press Release
Atomic Safety & Licensing Board's Decision
August 31, 2004 – GOP backs nuclear repository – Plank divides Nevada Republican delegation – NEW YORK -- Though it doesn't mention the Yucca Mountain Project by name, the platform approved Monday by the Republican Party probably won't help the GOP much in Nevada. . . . "President Bush supports construction of new nuclear power plants through the Nuclear Power 2010 initiative and continues to move forward on creating an environmentally sound nuclear waste repository," the platform states – By ERIN NEFF Las Vegas Review Journal
August 25, 2004 – Feds won't appeal Yucca ruling – WASHINGTON -- Federal officials say the government will not ask a federal appeals court to revisit last month's ruling on the Yucca Mountain project's radiation standards. That leaves the Nuclear Energy Institute, the nuclear industry's lobbying and advocacy group, as the only party in the six lawsuits over the project to file a request for rehearing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The institute filed its request Monday. –
By Suzanne Struglinski Las Vegas Sun WASHINGTON BUREAU
August 24, 2004 – Ad attacks Kerry over Yucca record –
Spot makes no mention of Bush's OK of site – Las Vegas Review Journal
August 20, 2004 – DOE says it's 79 percent set for application – Officials: On track to submit Yucca paperwork to NRC – ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The Energy Department has completed 79 percent of its work on the Yucca Mountain project's license application and is on track to submit the document in December, department officials told Nuclear Regulatory Commission managers Thursday – Suzanne Struglinski, Las Vegas Sun, Washington Bureau
August 20, 2004 – Nuke watchdog questions Congress on NRC's resolve – WASHINGTON -- Nevada wants Congress to step in to make the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Energy Department give the Yucca Mountain project a thorough review before any license application is submitted – Suzanne Struglinski, Las Vegas Sun, Washington Bureau
August 16, 2004 – NRC outlines proposal to test nuke waste casks – WASHINGTON -- The government could test nuclear waste containers destined for Yucca Mountain by running a train into one and then engulfing it in fire –
By Suzannne Struglinski, Las Vegas Sun, Washingtion Bureau
August 12, 2004 – Energy Department won't wait for key Yucca issues to be resolved – WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department will answer all 293 remaining scientific issues for the Yucca Mountain project by the end of the month, but will not wait for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to deem them "closed" before submitting the project's license application – By Suzanne Struglinski Las Vegas Sun - WASHINGTON BUREAU
August 12, 2004 – Nuclear waste site is election land mine –
Kerry challenges Bush over Yucca Mountain – LAS VEGAS - Unpopular in Nevada, President Bush's decision to put a nuclear waste dump in the state is creating a close race there between the president and Democrat John Kerry, according to recent polls. Bush’s problems in Nevada stem from Kerry tapping into voter anger over the president’s designation of Yucca Mountain as the national repository for nuclear waste – MSNBC News Sevice
August 11, 2004 – Lawsuit gets Jan. 10 hearing – WASHINGTON -- Nevada officials will be in court on Jan. 10, when a trio of federal judges is scheduled to hear the state's case to gain easier access to federal money to challenge the Yucca Mountain Project – STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
August 11, 2004 – Nuclear fuel costs repaid – Reactor operator gets $80 million for above-ground storage expenses – WASHINGTON -- The government has reached a settlement with the nation's largest nuclear plant operator, agreeing to pay Exelon Corp. for keeping used nuclear fuel at its power reactors until the radioactive material can be shipped to the Yucca Mountain repository. Announcing the deal on Tuesday, Exelon said it will receive $80 million for costs already spent to install above-ground storage containers at three of its utility sites and for other alterations to expand waste capacities – By STEVE TETREAULT, STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
August 10, 2004 – Complaint: Yucca issues neglected – WASHINGTON -- Nevada officials lodged a new complaint Monday that the Department of Energy is cutting corners to license a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. DOE is "walking away" from a pledge to resolve 293 outstanding technical issues before it files a repository license application later this year, the state's nuclear director charged in a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission –
By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
August 09, 2004 – EPA challenged over health risks at nuclear dump – Critic emphasizes different aspect of repository's hazards – As an outsider looking in, Jacob Paz believes he is calling the Department of Energy's bluff on its assessment of health risks for its plans to bury nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain. For five years, in a barrage of written comments, e-mail messages, conversations and public testimony, Paz has told Yucca Mountain Project officials his view of the plan to move the nation's nuclear waste 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas – Las Vegas Review Journal
August 09, 2004 – Pahrump population triples in 10 years – AP
August 05, 2004 – Nevadans worry NRC biased about repository – WASHINGTON -- Nevada officials are troubled by a Nuclear Regulatory Commission attorney who spoke in defense of the Energy Department at a hearing last week on the Yucca Mountain Project. NRC lawyers and staff members are required to act in an impartial manner as they prepare to weigh a license application to build a nuclear waste repository 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. But NRC staff attorney Mitzi Young crossed the line in favor of the Energy Department, said Bob Loux, executive director of the state's Agency for Nuclear Projects – By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
September
September 26, 2004 – Keeping the Yucca watchdog fed - Editorial, Nevada Appeal
September 22, 2004 – Rural counties weigh nuke benefits – CALIENTE -- An Energy Department-funded oversight committee on Tuesday reviewed a plan passed by the Lincoln County Commission to gauge residents' feelings on the proposed railroad line to Yucca Mountain – Las Vegas Sun
September 22, 2004 – Nevada loses nuclear waste grant – NRC rejection of $13.75 million request threatens efforts to fight Yucca Mountain Project – Stephens Washington Bureau
September 21, 2004 – Experts question safety of Yucca casks –
Water penetration, earthquakes among concerns – A metal drip shield that would keep water from penetrating casks holding high-level nuclear waste at a proposed dump at Yucca Mountain may be less effective than originally thought, members of an independent oversight board said Monday – Stephen Curran
LAS VEGAS SUN
September 21, 2004 – EPA hopes to have new Yucca radiation standard early next year – WASHINGTON - Trying to overcome a possibly crippling court decision, the Environmental Protection Agency hopes to have a proposal by early next year on new radiation exposure limits at a proposed nuclear waste site in Nevada – AP
September 21, 2004 – Nevada urges rejection of appeal – WASHINGTON -- Nevada is urging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to reject an Energy Department appeal regarding the first phase of the licensing process for the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas – Las Vegas Sun
September 19, 2004 – Percentage who favor making deal on Yucca project grows – Fewer support fighting effort to build repository for nuclear waste – WASHINGTON -- A growing share of Nevadans say in a new poll the state should accept a nuclear waste repository and try to deal for benefits in return, although they remain less than a majority . . . Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, said the poll results were suspect because respondents were asked their opinion after being told Yucca Mountain "has been approved as a repository of high level nuclear waste."
Although President Bush and Congress designated Yucca Mountain, "it hasn't been approved for anything," Loux said. He said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has yet to dissect the science behind the repository, a licensing process which will take years and will be hotly contested. – Las Vegas Review Journal
September 16, 2004 – NRC asked to give new look at Yucca documents –
WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department wants the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to revisit a licensing board decision that ruled the agency did not file Yucca Mountain project document properly. The department filed a 20-page document with the commissioners on Sept. 10, saying a Web site it created to handle the project's document should satisfy federal rules – By Suzanne Struglinski Las Vegas Sun WASHINGTON BUREAU
September 16, 2004 – YUCCA MOUNTAIN PROJECT: U.S. Supreme Court intervention sought – Nuclear industry group wants ruling reversal – WASHINGTON -- The Nuclear Energy Institute has served notice it intends to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a ruling that threw the Yucca Mountain Project into turmoil when it was issued in July –
By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
September 15, 2004 – New DOE rules concern Clark County officials – WASHINGTON -- Clark County officials are up in arms over Energy Department guidelines that set new limits on how Nevada counties can spend federal aid to monitor the Yucca Mountain Project – By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
September 13, 2004 – DOE appeals database ruling – The Energy Department filed an appeal on a Nuclear Regulatory Commisson Board's August 31 decision regarding the Licensing Support Network (LSN). LSN, an internet database on the proposed Yucca Mountain waste repository, is required to be certified as complete and available to the public six months before the NRC can begin to review DOE's Yucca license application. In August, an NRC board ruled the database was incomplete and needed to be re-certified – yuccamountain.org
Read DOE's appeal brief (PDF, 302KB )
September 09, 2004 – EPA won't appeal radiation standard – WASHINGTON -- The federal government will not appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge a recent legal setback to Yucca Mountain, the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday. The EPA will comply with the ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which on July 9 affirmed a Nevada appeal, the EPA said in a statement – By Benjamin Grove, Las Vegas Sun, WASHINGTON BUREAU
September 08, 2004 – State sues over Yucca rail line – WASHINGTON -- Nevada sued the Energy Department once again today, this time over its plan to build a new rail line in the state to move spent nuclear fuel to Yucca Mountain – By Suzanne Struglinski, Las Vegas Sun, WASHINGTON BUREAU
September 08, 2004 – Yucca court ruling set to take effect –
CARSON CITY -- The milestone federal court decision rendered in July and considered a setback for Yucca Mountain formally takes effect on Wednesday. A Nevada challenge to the nuclear waste project's radiation standards was set to become effective seven days after the court disposed of all appeals. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia threw out the one appeal -- brought by the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry lobbying group -- Wednesday in a one-sentence ruling – By Cy Ryan, Las Vegas Sun - SUN CAPITAL BUREAU
September 04, 2004 – Court lets Yucca ruling stand –
Appeal denied on radiation safety guideline – WASHINGTON -- A federal court ruling that struck a blow against the Yucca Mountain Project will become effective on Wednesday after judges this week refused to take a second look at the case. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said it will not reconsider the Yucca matter on appeal from the Nuclear Energy Institute –
By STEVE TETREAULT - THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
September 02, 2004 – Yucca complaint points to unsafe toxic dust levels –Lawsuit accuses contractors of withholding information, deceiving tunnel workers – Workers and visitors inside Yucca Mountain inhaled unsafe levels of toxic dust in 2002, five years after a tunnel was completed to study whether the mountain can safely entomb nuclear waste, attorneys claim in court papers filed Wednesday – Las Vegas Review Journal
September 01, 2004 – DOE takes another Yucca hit from NRC – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission handed Yucca Mountain another setback Tuesday, saying the Energy Department did not have all of its project documents in order when the 5.6 million pages were submitted in June – Las Vegas Review Journal
September 01, 2004 – Yucca database problem criticized – Nuclear licensing board rules against Energy Department – WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department was dealt a new blow on Tuesday when a nuclear licensing board ruled DOE mishandled a public database that is supposed to contain all documents for the planned Nevada nuclear waste repository – By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
October
October 31, 2004 – Clinton attacks Bush on Yucca – Stumping for Kerry in Henderson, ex-president says election a referendum on repository plan – Las Vegas Review Journal
October 29, 2004 – Yucca Mountain Looms Over Vote –
Nevada May Hinge on Candidates' Plans for Nuclear Waste – Washington Post
October 29, 2004 Where I Stand -- Brian Greenspun: Yucca lives or dies on Tuesday – Brian Greenspun is editor of the Las Vegas Sun – Las Vegas Sun
October 21, 2004 – Report: Yucca Mountain to be at capacity before opening – License extensions results in more waste – More nuclear waste than the planned repository at Yucca Mountain can hold will pile up at reactor sites as the government continues to approve license extensions for power plants, an environmental research organization claimed in a study to be released today. If a repository is built by 2010 in the mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, its 77,000-ton capacity will be filled by existing spent fuel awaiting shipment. That's not counting another 9,900 tons that will have accumulated in the meantime from license extensions, according to the study by the Environmental Working Group – Las Vegas Review Journal
October 2004 – Outrage of the Week - Yucca Mountain Denial of State and County Oversight Funds -- A New Low Even For DOEJust when you thought there's no way for DOE to be more outrageous when it comes to the Yucca Mountain program, the Department manages to come up with ever more outlandish and heavy-handed decisions – State of Nevada, Nuclear Projects Agency
October 15, 2004 – Walker says state could be stuck with nuke waste –
SALT LAKE CITY -- Gov. Olene Walker warned Thursday that a temporary nuclear waste storage facility in Utah could start taking shipments before the government has approved a final destination for the waste. It's a move, Walker said, that could doom the state to a life sentence of storing and bearing the safety risks of spent nuclear fuel – AP (Related Story - Salt Lake Tribune)
October 13, 2004 – YUCCA MOUNTAIN PROJECT: Money request approved – $1.75 million sought to fight repository – CARSON CITY -- A panel that includes Gov. Kenny Guinn approved a request Tuesday for $1.75 million in additional funding for the state's ongoing efforts to fight construction of a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. The request for $1.1 million for the Agency for Nuclear Projects and $650,000 for the attorney general's office for outside legal assistance was approved by the Board of Examiners and will go to the Legislature's Interim Finance Committee on Nov. 17. – By SEAN WHALEY Las Vegas Review Journal -CAPITAL BUREAU
October 13, 2004 – Group admits violating state open-meeting law –Elected officials from rural Nevada who met behind closed doors to discuss a rail corridor to the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site violated the state open-meeting law, the state attorney general's office says – Las Vegas Review Journal
October 12, 2004– Appeals court denies Yucca radiation request –
State: Without standard, application would be worthless – WASHINGTON -- A federal appeals court has denied a request to keep the Yucca Mountain radiation standards in place until the Supreme Court decides whether to hear the case. With just under three months to go before the Energy Department plans to submit a license application for the planned nuclear waste dump, the court's original decision to throw out the radiation standard will take effect in a week or less – By Suzanne Struglinski, Las Vegas Sun WASHINGTON BUREAU
October 12, 2004 – AG warns Yucca board about open meeting law violations – Members of a board created to study the proposed rail line from Caliente to Yucca Mountain may have knowingly violated Nevada's open meeting laws when it closed its doors to local residents and media, according an attorney general's legal opinion released Monday – Las Vegas Sun
October 08, 2004 – Proponents cite missing waste as need for Yucca –
WASHINGTON -- Highly radioactive waste is missing at a closed California nuclear power plant, and critics and proponents of Yucca Mountain each say the issue bolsters their positions regarding the nuclear waste dump – Las Vegas Sun
October 08, 2004 – Emergency funds sought for state's fight against Yucca – CARSON CITY -- The state Nuclear Projects Office is seeking an emergency appropriation of $1.1 million to carry on the fight against Yucca Mountain – Las Vegas Sun
October 06, 2004 – Kerry would use budget, Cabinet influence to kill Yucca Mountain – RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Democrat John Kerry said if he is elected president he will refuse to fund efforts crucial to the construction of Yucca Mountain to keep the nation's nuclear waste dump from being built in Nevada – AP
October 06, 2004 – NUCLEAR REPOSITORY: Yucca court challenge alive –
Justice Department still may ask court to keep disputed radiation rules intact – WASHINGTON -- The White House on Tuesday distanced itself from a Justice Department document suggesting the Bush administration might ask the Supreme Court to keep intact disputed radiation rules for the Yucca Mountain Project – By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
October 05, 2004 – Agency lost money on equipment, audit says – WASHINGTON -- The Department of Energy in 2003 gave away 1,300 pieces of equipment no longer needed at Yucca Mountain, including a refurbished rock-boring machine and thousands of tons of iron and steel that could have raised more than $450,000 for the financially strapped nuclear waste project, federal auditors said –
By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
October 01, 2004 – NUCLEAR WASTE: Congress stuck on Yucca Mountain –
Unable to agree on 2005 funding, legislators to wait until after Election Day –WASHINGTON -- Unable to break a stalemate over Yucca Mountain funding for next year, Congress has decided to put off the fight until after Election Day.
Lawmakers might receive a signal from voters whether to continue developing a nuclear waste repository in Nevada or to scrap the project, depending on who they elect as president, analysts said. The House and Senate on Wednesday enacted temporary spending bills to keep government departments operating beyond Friday, the start of the new fiscal year – By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
October 01, 2004 – Low-level waste repositories draw interest – WASHINGTON -- Congress might consider establishing federal repositories for low-level nuclear waste, after states have failed to open new facilities on their own, a Senate committee chairman said Thursday . . . Domenici did not mention possible locations for low-level nuclear waste repositories. But a California official who appeared before the Senate Energy Committee said a low-level waste disposal area the Energy Department operates at Frenchman Flat on the Nevada Test Site is underutilized and might be able to store more material while Congress considers a long-term solution.– Stephens Washington Bureau (Related Information -
Recent GAO Study 9/30/04 -- 29 Pages, 720KB)
November
November 30, 2004 – DOE: Tunnel supports not a priority for Yucca –
WASHINGTON -- Yucca Mountain tunnel supports that prevent rock falls ultimately are not "important" to safely isolating nuclear waste, the Energy Department said – Las Vegas Sun (More Coverage)
November 29, 2004 – Yucca standard won't be appealed – EPA may have to develop new radiation guidelines – WASHINGTON -- The Nuclear Energy Institute will not ask the Supreme Court to review a federal appeals court ruling that threw out a radiation protection standard for the Yucca Mountain project – Las Vegas Sun
November 23, 2004 – DOE's schedule change could benefit Nevada – WASHINGTON -- Nevada feels a little less pressure now that it is clear the Yucca Mountain project's license application is still a few months off – By Suzanne Struglinski, SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU
November 22, 2004 – DOE to miss its Yucca deadline –
Officials unclear when license application will be submitted – ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The Energy Department will not file the Yucca Mountain project's license application next month as planned, said Margaret Chu, the department official who oversees the project – Las Vegas Sun
November 21, 2004 – Yucca Mountain adviser to Reid to get NRC post – Accord paves way for Senate to fill other high-level federal positions – WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he reached an agreement with the White House that will enable his Yucca Mountain adviser, Gregory Jaczko, to be named early next year to the commission that regulates the nuclear power industry – Stephens Washington Bureau
November 20, 2004 – Bill means Yucca stays alive but won't thrive – WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers agreed Friday to spend $577 million on Yucca Mountain in the next year, enough to keep the nuclear waste project alive but with millions less than the Energy Department had requested – Stephens Washington Bureau
November 17, 2004 – White House denies attempt to change Yucca radiation rules – WASHINGTON -- The White House today denied a report that it is pushing Congress to change the radiation standard for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in an apparent attempt to overturn a federal appellate court ruling – By Suzanne Struglinski, Las Vegas Sun
November 16, 2004 – Reid vows to continue fight on Yucca Mountain as minority leader – WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. Harry Reid promised Tuesday to maintain his opposition to the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump in his new position as Senate minority leader – AP
November 16, 2004 – Yucca budget work part of 'lame duck' session –
WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers are expected to work on a budget for the Yucca Mountain project now that they have returned to pick up business left unfinished the election – By Suzanne Struglinski, Las Vegas Sun, Washington Bureau
November 15, 2004 –
Another Yucca advocate likely to replace Abraham
–
WASHINGTON -- The departure of Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham likely would not herald changes in the Energy Department's Yucca Mountain project because President Bush is sure to appoint another Yucca advocate, observers said today after Abraham's resignation was announced – Las Vegas Sun
November 12, 2004 – Bechtel's Big Dig problems no surprise to Yucca critics – WASHINGTON -- Yucca Mountain critics glumly note that Boston's controversial "Big Dig" public works project, plagued by leaks and cost overruns, is managed by the same corporation in charge of the proposed nuclear waste dump – By Benjamin Grove, Las Vegas Sun
November 09, 2004 – Lawmakers approve $1.6 million for battle to block Yucca nuclear dump – Nevada legislators on Monday approved $1.6 million to continue the battle to block the Yucca Mountain nuclear dump project – Nevada Appeal, Carson City
November 05, 2004 – Yucca project polls differ – Newest survey shows repository opposition up to 77 percent – Opposition among Nevadans to the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository increased slightly over the past year to 77 percent, while nearly as many people believe the state should continue to fight the project, an annual poll by the Nevada Nuclear Projects Agency has shown – Las Vegas Review Journal
November 05, 2004 – Bush win gives boost to Yucca plan – LAS VEGAS - Opponents of a national nuclear waste dump in Nevada lost their chance to put an ally in the White House with President Bush's defeat of Democratic Sen. John Kerry – – AP
November 05, 2004 – YUCCA MOUNTAIN PROJECT: Nuclear industry to forge ahead – Bush's re-election seen as green light for project by some; others vow to battle on – WASHINGTON -- Emboldened by election results, the nuclear industry and supportive lawmakers are planning a new charge to increase spending and fix financial problems plaguing the Yucca Mountain Project, executives and legislators said – By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
December
December 30, 2004 – Coalition sets sights on Yucca benefits – WASHINGTON -- A newly formed business and rural government coalition plans to lobby Nevada lawmakers and the state's congressional delegation to seek benefits for serving as host of the Yucca Mountain repository, its leaders said Wednesday – By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
December 21, 2004 – NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY: Lawsuit over Yucca project dust returned – Judge wants revised complaint by Jan. 10 –A complaint against Yucca Mountain contractors that claims they exposed workers and visitors to toxic dust during construction of a tunnel at the planned nuclear waste site was too long and overstated, a federal judge ruled Monday.
December 20, 2004 – Ensign: Bush's Nevada win holds him to Yucca rulings –
State not backing off fight against dump – WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said President Bush's victory in Nevada empowers the state to hold Bush to his promise that he will respect the rulings of the courts on Yucca Mountain – By Benjamin Grove Las Vegas Sun WASHINGTON BUREAU
December 19, 2004 –
Most Nevadans oppose Yucca plan, poll says
– LAS VEGAS — Most Nevadans remain opposed to plans to bury the nation’s nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain and want the state to continue fighting the project, a poll commissioned by the state’s two U.S. senators shows – AP
December 14, 2004 – Efficient nuke plants could lessen need for dumpsite, Domenici says –
Nevada is locked in the middle of a nuclear waste disposal debate that could ease with a new generation of smaller, more efficient nuclear power plants necessary to a stable energy future for the nation, Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said. – Las Vegas Sun
December 14, 2004 – Senator frustrated Yucca project not moving faster –
Domenici says delay slowing expansion of nuclear plants – Sen. Pete Domenici, the powerful Republican from New Mexico who wants to get the ball rolling on burying nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain, said Monday he's frustrated the project doesn't get more funding, because it leaves expansion of U.S. plants mired while other countries are becoming more reliant on nuclear power – Las Vegas Review Journal
December 08, 2004 – Experts: Yucca 'backup' sites needed – Panel recommends nuclear storage areas near Mississippi River – WASHINGTON -- The nation needs Yucca Mountain as part of a broad energy strategy, including expanded nuclear power -- but the government should also construct above-ground "dry cask" waste storage sites, a coalition of energy experts said today – Las Vegas Sun
December 07, 2004 – YUCCA MOUNTAIN PROJECT: Board raises questions about shipping plans – DOE's progress comes under fire –WASHINGTON -- A Yucca Mountain review board has raised questions about the Energy Department's progress in planning to ship thousands of tons of nuclear waste to a proposed Nevada repository. With the department still clinging to a goal of opening a burial site in 2010, it has yet to put in place a comprehensive organization "that can develop a safe, secure and efficient transportation system," according to the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board – By STEVE TETREAULT, STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
December 03, 2004 – YUCCA INCENTIVE: Deadline passes; bonus in limbo – Contractor probably will receive portion of award despite delay – WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department is evaluating whether a major Yucca Mountain contractor should be paid part of a $15.3 million incentive fee even though the nuclear waste project is being delayed, department officials said. Bechtel SAIC Co. LLC, the repository management firm, did not meet a Nov. 30 deadline in its contract to hand in a completed license application for the Nevada radioactive waste repository, a DOE spokesman confirmed – By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
December 02, 2004 – Bill OKs federal funds to be used to monitor Yucca – LAS VEGAS - Congress has sided with Nevada counties that want to spend federal money monitoring federal plans for a national nuclear waste repository, officials said . . . "It provides the specific language that answers the questions that had come up over how we can use our oversight funds," said Abigail Johnson, a nuclear waste consultant to Eureka County – AP
December 02, 2004 – Yucca is DOE's toughest task – Las Vegas Sun
|
