December 5, 2007

Washington, DC—Senator Harry Reid of Nevada released the following statement today after a panel of administrative  judges considered the Department of Energy’s (DOE) certification of the Licensing Support Network (LSN) for Yucca Mountain:

“There were many important concerns that were discussed at today’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission hearing. Of chief concern is that the Department of Energy provide the State of

Nevada

with all the information it needs to consider and challenge the license application process in a meaningful way. This is a mandatory first step before DOE can file its license application by the arbitrary self-imposed June 30, 2008 deadline. I hope the NRC panel carefully considers the serious implications of the DOE’s premature LSN certification because of the major risks to public health and the environment that are at stake. I am hopeful that the panel will recognize that the DOE is trampling on the NRC’s regulations by trying to certify an incomplete LSN, and rejects DOE’s rush to submit a license application for this dead-end project. We simply cannot bring the most dangerous substance on the face of this earth to

Nevada

.”

The LSN is a database of documents that may be used as evidence during the license application process and must be made available to the public. This database must be certified as complete at least 6 months before the license application for construction of a nuclear waste dump at

Yucca

Mountain

can be submitted to the NRC.