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  Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) "Issues" for Yucca Mountain

2007

2006

  • July 28, 2006 — New Yucca analysis sought — Reid, Ensign press Bush administration for access to impact study — WASHINGTON -- Nevada's senators say White House environmental advisers were supposed to have completed a new Yucca Mountain analysis by now, and they are demanding to know where the document is — STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU


  • August 08, 2006 — Court Rejects Nev. Yucca Mountain Appeal — WASHINGTON - Nevada was dealt a blow in its effort to avoid a radioactive waste dump Tuesday as a federal appeals court turned aside arguments against transportation plans — AP


  • October 13, 2006:   Scoping — Supplemental Yucca Mountain Repository Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0250F-S1). The U.S. Department of Energy has published a Notice of Intent to prepare a Supplement to the “Final 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” (DOE/EIS-0250F, February 2002). (DOE SEIS Website)


  • October 13, 2006 — Amended Notice of Intent — To Expand the Scope of the Environmental Impact Statement for the Alignment, Construction, and Operation of a Rail Line to a Geologic Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, NV — DOE/OCRWM


  • State of Nevada - Nevada calls for DOE to withdraw notice for new railroad to Yucca Mountain, allow more time for review

    State of Nevada - Letter to Edward Sproat, Director, OCRWM, Re;:Amended Notice of Intent to Expand the Scope of the Environmental Impact


  • October 21, 2006 — GETTING NUCLEAR WASTE TO YUCCA: More time urged to examine route — Loux asks DOE to extend comment period — WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department was urged Friday to grant more time and more public meetings for Nevadans to examine plans for a new nuclear waste railroad corridor to Yucca Mountain. — By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU


  • October 31, 2006 — Statement by the Agency For Nuclear Projects — U.S. DOE Notices Of Intent To Amend The Scope Of The Yucca Mountain Rail Alignment Draft EIS And Prepare A Supplement To The Final Yucca Mountain EIS


  • November 28, 2006 — Dozens get to question officials on Yucca plans . . . An environmental impact statement -- looking at land use and ownership, noise, vibration, cultural resources, aesthetic resources, ground water and biological resources and more -- is expected on the Mina Corridor in 2007, likely after the summer — Reno Gazette Journal   


  • November 27, 2006 — Yucca plan revisits region — Nuclear waste on its way to Yucca Mountain could pass through Northern Nevada under a proposed railroad shipping route being studied by the Department of Energy that is the topic of a public meeting today in Reno — Reno Gazette Journal


  • December 12, 2006 — State of Nevada - State of Nevada Comments: — DOE's Notice of Intent to Prepare a Supplement to the Final Environmental Impact Statement for a Geologic Repository for the Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, NV (71FR198, October 13, 2006, 60490-60494) ( -106K)


  • December 12, 2006 — State of Nevada - State of Nevada's Comments — DOE's Amended Notice of Intent To Expand the Scope of the Environmental Impact Statement for the Alignment, Construction,and Operation of a Rail Line to a Geologic Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, NV (Federal Register Notice of 10-13-06) ( -326K)

2005

  • November 21, 2005 — EPA to review Yucca input —Public weighs in on proposed radiation standards — WASHINGTON -- By the end of today, the Environmental Protection Agency will add its last pages to the stack of public comments on the proposed radiation protection standards for the Yucca Mountain project. Today marks the end of an almost four-month comment period on the standards, proposed in August. The agency has to create a new standard after a federal appeals court threw out the existing ones last year. The EPA received at least 120 written comments, according to its Web site. By Suzanne Struglinski Sun Washington Bureau


  • October 2005 — EPA values public opinion — WASHINGTON -- When Environmental Protection Agency officials say they listen to every comment raised in the public hearings about the Yucca Mountain radiation standard, they mean it. — Las Vegas Sun, Washington Bureau


  • Sepember. 27, 2005 — GROUNDWORK CRITICIZED : DOE land use plan disputed — Nevada officials question proposed rail corridor that leads to Yucca Mountain — Stephens Washington Bureau # Read The State's Comments


  • September 13, 2005 — YUCCA MOUNTAIN: EPA official defends rule — An Environmental Protection Agency official Monday defended proposed new radiation safety standards for Yucca Mountain and said they amounted to the most stringent nuclear waste protections in the nation — Stephens Washington Bureau


  • August 29, 2005 — Public land sought for nuke rail study — WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department wants to lock up more than 300,000 acres of public land from mining or drilling for 10 years, as part of its plan for a new rail line to move nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain. — Las Vegas Sun


  • August 19, 2005 — Nevada's senators challenge latest nuclear waste transportation policy — Las Vegas Review Journal


  • August 10, 2005 — Yucca radiation limits unveiled — Standards will be good for 1 million years, EPA says — WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday unveiled a new set of radiation limits for Yucca Mountain that appear headed on a path to prolong and intensify clashes over the safety of burying nuclear waste in Nevada — Las Vegas Review Journal (More Coverage Washington Post and the Las Vegas Sun)


  • July 18, 2005 — DOE says dedicated trains to be used for nuclear waste shipments — WASHINGTON - Nuclear waste will be shipped to a national repository in the Nevada desert on dedicated railroad cars, rather than sharing trains with other cargo, the Energy Department announced Monday. AP


  • June 21, 2005 — Nevada asks federal court to stop Yucca Mountain rail plan — LAS VEGAS - Nevada asked a federal court Tuesday to derail Energy Department plans for a rail line to ship radioactive waste to Yucca Mountain, claiming "abuses of authority" by the administration and its "decide-first, analyze-later approach." — AP


  • May 18, 2005 — EPA's proposal for new Yucca radiation standard is delayed — Process will likely affect DOE's license application —WASHINGTON -- A proposal for the new radiation standard for the Yucca Mountain project may not be done until September, according to the Environmental Protection Agency — By Suzanne Struglinski, Las Vegas Sun - Washington Bureau


  • April 14, 2005 – Report urges feds to keep 10,000-year radiation standard – WASHINGTON -- Federal officials should keep the original 10,000-year radiation standard in place for the Yucca Mountain nuclear dump and should consider allowing a higher dose limit for the time frame beyond the 10,000 years, according to a report released Monday — By Suzanne Struglinski, Las Vegas Sun - WASHINGTON BUREAU


  • March 24, 2005 — Nevada files brief in suit against nuclear waste railroad — LAS VEGAS - Nevada is accusing the Energy Department of failing to complete required environmental studies and usurping jurisdiction of the government's railroad agency in planning to build a rail line to the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site – AP


  • February 23, 2005 — Nevada wants in on meetings on Yucca Mountain radiation standard — LAS VEGAS - Nevada wants to be part of federal meetings about the Environmental Protection Agency's effort to comply with a court ruling that stalled a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, lawyer for Nevada said Wednesday — AP


  • February 09, 2005 — Construction plans for Yucca rail line could begin next year — WASHINGTON -- Construction planning could begin as soon as next year for the rail line that is to carry nuclear waste across Nevada to Yucca Mountain, according to Energy Department budget documents — Las Vegas Sun - Washington Bureau


  • February 03, 2005 – Abraham: Congress should sidestep EPA on Yucca – WASHINGTON -- Congress -- not the Environmental Protection Agency -- should set a new radiation standard for Yucca Mountain, departing Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said Wednesday — Las Vegas Sun - WASHINGTON BUREAU

2004

  • 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 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


  • 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


  • 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 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


  • 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


  • 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)


  • 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 25, 2004 – BLM to hold public meetings on proposal for Yucca rail line – Las Vegas Review Journal


  • 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 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


  • 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 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 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 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 )


  • 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 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


  • 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


  • 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 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

2003

  • December 23, 2003    Yucca Mountain Project Office Identifies Caliente as Preferred Corridor For Construction of Rail Line to Serve Repository Las Vegas – The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management announced today that the program has identified the Caliente rail corridor as its preference for construction of a rail line to serve the Yucca Mountain Repository in Nevada. At this time, the Department also has identified Carlin as the secondary preferred corridor – Read DOE Press Release (725KB) – Includes Statewide Rail Corridor Map


  • December 19, 2003 – State officials prepare for big Yucca hearing – WASHINGTON -- Nevada officials want three federal agencies to justify actions they feel violated federal nuclear waste law, overruled scientific evidence and unconstitutionally pitted 49 states against one, all in the name of building a nuclear waste storage site at Yucca Mountain – Las Vegas Sun


  • November 04, 2003 – Air Force wary of Yucca's impact – Officials say training would be affected by dump – WASHINGTON -- Air Force officials are making a new push to warn congressional leaders that the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository could hurt training and endanger sensitive operations - Las Vegas Sun


  • October 24, 2003 – '60 Minutes' tackles Yucca Mountain issue – Las Vegas Sun (More Coverage from CBS)


  • September 20, 2003 – Yucca Mountain lawsuits rescheduled – WASHINGTON – A federal court has set Jan. 14 as the new date for oral arguments in lawsuits challenging the Yucca Mountain Project, a Nevada official said Friday. The cases will be argued before three judges representing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit: David S. Tatel, who was appointed by President Clinton; Karen Henderson, seated by the first President George Bush, and Harry Edwards, an appointee of President Carter. It is not yet clear how much time the judges will allocate to each of the four major lawsuits from the state, Clark County and the city of Las Vegas, according to Bob Loux, head of the state's Agency for Nuclear Projects –By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU


  • August 27, 2003– Nevada officials prepare anti-Yucca legal strategy – Lawyers, consultants choose best arguments for defeating nuke dump – LEESBURG, Va. – At a conference center outside Washington D.C., Nevada-hired attorneys, state officials and technical experts on Tuesday began forming legal presentations against the Yucca Mountain Project . . . . Gathered behind closed doors at the Lansdowne Resort in suburban Virginia, Sandoval, state nuclear projects director Bob Loux and 18 lawyers and state-hired science consultants began by discussing the state's defense against procedural points that Justice and Energy department attorneys have raised in legal briefs, Sandoval said — Stephens Washington Bureau


  • August 16, 2003 – Trial for state's Yucca lawsuits postponed – WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court has ordered an indefinite delay in the trial of a group of four Nevada lawsuits seeking to block the licensing of a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. Opening arguments, which had been scheduled for Oct. 3, were postponed Thursday by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington. Linda Jones, the courts operations manager, said she hoped the trial would be rescheduled before the end of the year, but she wasn't sure – – Stephens Washington Bureau


  • July 26, 2003 – Yucca routes debated – Panel considers nuclear waste safety – A panel of scientists and academics focused Friday on how the federal government can safely ship radioactive waste across the country to a planned national nuclear waste dump in Nevada. Nevada officials told a 16-member National Academies panel that the Energy Department's plan for shipping the nation's nuclear waste from 70 sites across the country to Yucca Mountain was too incomplete to assess. "There is no plan," said Bob Loux, chief of Nevada's Nuclear Projects Agency that is working to stop the project. "No one can do any planning until they know the mode and the route." – AP


  • July 17, 2003 – Panel to take comment on Yucca transportation – A National Research Council committee examining nuclear waste transportation risks will meet in Las Vegas next week to field public comment and hear presentations on a national program to haul spent fuel assemblies to the planned Yucca Mountain repository – Las Vegas Review Journal


  • June 13, 2003 – Government studying aircraft threat at Nevada nuke dump – LAS VEGAS - Federal officials on Friday downplayed the chance that aircraft including military bombers from Nellis Air Force Base could pose a threat to the Nevada site picked to bury the nation's radioactive waste – AP


  • April 01, 2003 — DOE looks at Yucca options -- Project managers might ship nuclear waste by truck rather than rail to save money -- WASHINGTON -- Spurred by shrinking budgets, the Energy Department is reconsidering its strategy to ship nuclear waste to a planned repository at Yucca Mountain via railroad in Nevada -- Las Vegas Review Journal


  • January 27, 2003 — Nevada puts five Yucca Mountain claims in one case against NRC -- LAS VEGAS (AP) - Nevada sought to bolster its case against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday by adding elements of its other lawsuits against the federal government's plan to store the nation's nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain.   ( More Coverage - Las Vegas Review Journal )


  •  Read the State of Nevada's Opening Brief

2002

  • November 09, 2002 — Federal court to hear three major Yucca Mountain suits together —At the request of lawyers for the state of Nevada, a federal appeals court has agreed to hear three major Yucca Mountain lawsuits together. At the same time Thursday, the court agreed to have the same three-judge panel consider all three suits challenging federal plans to build a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Oral arguments on the cases are scheduled for September 2003 before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia -- Associated Press


  • September 09, 2002 — Federal court keeps alive Nevada’s challenges to Yucca dump -- LAS VEGAS — Nevada’s legal challenges to the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository moved another step forward after a federal judicial panel in Washington refused to dismiss three state lawsuits on procedural grounds. Nevada officials on Monday hailed a three-part decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit as significant legal victories, while an Energy Department official downplayed them as “just procedural stuff” -- AP


  • July 09, 2002 —   SENATE APPROVES YUCCA NUCLEAR WASTE SITE -- Bush plan: 77,000 tons of waste beneath mountain -- WASHINGTON (AP) --The Senate voted Tuesday to entomb thousands of tons of Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev, and Sen. Majority Leader Tom Daschleradioactive waste inside Yucca Mountain in the Nevada desert, rejecting the state's fervent protests and ending years of political debate over nuclear waste disposal. The Senate action came despite the refusal of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-South Dakota, to bring up the matter, forcing Republican senators to use a provision of a 1982 waste law that allow any senator to demand a vote. The same law required the Senate to act by July 26, or the Yucca site would be shut down automatically.


    • Related Stories:
    Congress OKs Nuclear Waste in Nevada -- (AP)
    YUCCA MOUNTAIN: SENATE OKS DUMP -- Nuclear lobby wins by count of 60-39 -- by Steve Tetreault, Las Vegas Review-Journal
    Ensign's lobbying fails to garner votes -- by Tony Batt, Las Vegas Review-Journal
    VENUE CHANGE: State pins last hopes on courts -- Elected officials confident they can prevail by exposing DOE flaws -- by Steve Tetreault, Las Vegas Review-Journal
    Yucca Mountain Controversy Chronology -- Las Vegas Sun

  • June 06, 2002— Nevada to challenge DOE in lawsuit -- Injunction sought to stop Yucca project -- WASHINGTON -- Nevada officials planned to file their most sweeping lawsuit to date today challenging environmental studies that led President Bush to select Yucca Mountain for a nuclear waste repository.  The lawsuit charges the Department of Energy violated major environmental and nuclear policy laws when it put together a final impact statement on the proposed Nevada storage site -- Las Vegas Review Journal  View/Print Lawsuit (53 Pages)


  • May 23, 2002 — State to file sixth lawsuit against Yucca —WASHINGTON -- The state of Nevada on June 4 plans to file its sixth lawsuit designed to kill Yucca Mountain, Nevada sources said. The lawsuit will challenge the Department of Energy's final environmental impact statement, or EIS, for Yucca, said Joe Egan, the Washington-area lawyer hired by the state to mount legal challenges to the proposed nuclear waste repository -- Las Vegas Sun
  • May 08, 2002—House approves Yucca plan —WASHINGTON -- The House today overwhelmingly approved a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, marking a significant milestone in the long history of the project. The 306-117 vote sets up action by the Senate -- which will hold three hearings on the matter this month and is expected to vote on the repository by the end of July - Las Vegas Sun


  • April 2002 — Letter to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) From the Eureka County Commission -- This letter transmits general comments for the Yucca Mountain Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)   Download/Print as Adobe PDF file


  • April 2002 — Eureka County Specific Comments — Final Environmental Impact Statement for Yucca Mountain  Download/Print as Adobe PDF file


  • April 2002 — Letter from Eureka County to the Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) -- The Letter presents several questions to the CEQ regarding DOE's complience with the National Environmental Policy Act per DOE's Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Yucca Mountain High Level Waste Repository  Download/Print as Adobe PDF file


  • February 16, 2002 — Nuclear Waste Repository:  Bush backs Yucca plan -- Las Vegas Review Journal


  • February 15, 2002 -- Bush OKs Yucca for nuke waste dump -- President Bush approved Friday Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham's strongly worded recommendation that a national nuclear waste dump be constructed at Yucca Mountain.  Gov. Kenny Guinn vowed to veto the president's order and continue fighting the proposed repository 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.  "We are in the fight for our life," Guinn said. -- Las Vegas Sun


    •  Presidential Letter to Congress
     Statement by the Press Secretary
     DOE Issues Final Yucca Mountain EIS
     Transportation Plan -- Graphic
     

  • February 15, 2002 -- YUCCA MOUNTAIN:  Decision on waste goes to Bush -- Energy secretary tells president location 'technically suitable --   Energy Secretary AbrahamWASHINGTON -- Nevada's prospects to become the nation's burial ground for nuclear waste were placed in the hands of President Bush on Thursday when Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham transmitted a packet to the White House recommending that Bush approve a Yucca Mountain repository. . . . I've called him a blockhead before, I've called him a fathead before. It's too good for him. That's it. Any questions?" -- [Oscar] Goodman [Mayor of Las Vegas] said a decision to move nuclear waste to Nevada might lead to civil disobedience -- Las Vegas Review Journal  (Related Story - AP)

2001

  • 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)


  • 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

  • July 05, 2001 — EIS Comments — 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 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 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 Times)


  • 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)


  • 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 — Eureka County letter to DOE's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. RE: Request to Extend Public Review and Comment Period for 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

2000

  • February 25, 2000 — State of Nevada Comments, Yucca Mountain Draft Environmental Impact Statement  (190 pages — 3.6MB download — Adobe PDF File format  


  • February 25, 2000 — Board reprimands DOE; says Yucca issues unclear  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is criticizing the U.S. Department of Energy's efforts to measure environmental impacts at Yucca Mountain for a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository.  In response to the DOE's report on the repository's environmental impacts, the commission on Thursday cited DOE's failure to clearly define issues not related to radiological impacts from transporting 77,000 tons of highly radioactive waste within Nevada.  The commission said the DOE failed to address cumulative impacts, an important requirement under federal environmental law. Among the issues, the DOE did not consider the future use of ground water at Yucca when combined with growing local cities or agricultural water rights of the Timbisha Shoshone tribe — By Mary Manning LAS VEGAS SUN


  • February 25, 2000 — Agency pans Yucca Mountain report - Environmental study on proposed dump called inadequate  WASHINGTON — The Nuclear Regulatory Commissionthis week criticized a draft environmental report on Yucca Mountain and said the draft inadequately assessed the effect ofa nuclear waste repository in Southern evada.  The commission's comments were submitted to the Energy Department, which prepared the draft report. The agency plans to issue a final environmental impact statement on Yucca Mountain later this year.  The reports are preliminary steps to the department's recommendation to the president by July 2001 on whether Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is asuitable repository site.  The draft report, released in August, "does not describe and discuss the environmental impacts of a clearly defined proposed action," the commission said in a news release — By Tony Batt Donrey Washington Bureau (Printed in the Las Vegas Review Journal


  • February 19, 2000 — DOE Announcement — Extension of the public comment period and an additional public hearing in San Bernardino, California (February 22nd) for the Yucca Mountain Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)


  • February 02, 2000 — County wants DOE to redo Yucca impact study  The federal government's use of outdated population numbers and its failure to communicate with local officials while drafting its environmental impact study for the Yucca Mountain project infuriated Clark County commissioners.  The commission voted unanimously Tuesday to request that the Department of Energy redo its study on the potential impacts of the proposed nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas - By Adrienne Packer LAS VEGAS SUN.


  • January 29, 2000 — Yucca Mountain report expected to be on schedule  The nation's nuclear waste chief said he doesn't expect any delays in schedules to produce the Yucca Mountain Project's final impact statement and a report in the fall recommending the volcanic-rock ridge as a disposal site for radioactive waste — By Keith Rogers Las Vegas Review-Journal


  • January 27, 2000 — Hold Yucca report, state urges  A geologist calls for a delay on an environmental statement for a planned nuke waste dump. Nevada's attorney general's office on Wednesday asked a presidential panel to postpone the final environmental impact statement for a Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository and delay a decision on recommending the site until a UNLV minerals study is completed in 2001 — By Keith Rogers Las Vegas Review-Journal.


  • January 12, 2000 — DOE meeting draws vocal crowd  The Department of Energy expected 70 people to attend a Las Vegas hearing on environmental impacts of burying highly radioactive wastes at Yucca Mountain. Instead, more than 400 spent over 12 hours Tuesday telling the DOE to keep 77,000 tons of highly Wendy Dixon of DOE fields questions at EIS public hearingradioactive wastes out of Nevada.  Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn, Senate Democrats Richard Bryan and Harry Reid and House Democrat Shelley Berkley — who voiced their opposition in person or through spokespeople — received new support from almost 6,000 Realtors and the Howard Hughes Corp — by By Mary Manning LAS VEGAS SUN


  • January 11, 2000 - Statement of Frankie Sue Del Papa Nevada Attorney General to the U. S. Department of Energy Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management regarding the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a Yucca Mountain, Nevada.    The statement was presented presented by Thomas M. Patton, First Assistant Attorney General at the public hearing in Las Vegas, Nevada

  • January 11, 2000 — Final day for public comment on Yucca Mountain draws crowd  LAS VEGAS (AP) - Opponents of a nuclear waste dump rallied Tuesday with a familiar cry - the project would be bad for the environment, the economy and the people of Nevada — By Trevor Hayes ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER


  • January 6, 2000 — Letter from Eureka County, Pete Goicoechea, Chairman County Commission to Mr. Ivan Itkin, Director DOE — Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.  The letter requests the Department of Energy to extend the comment period for the proposed General Guidelines for Recommendation of Sites for Nuclear Repositories, and postpone the scheduled public hearings.

1999

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