June 18, 2008

Washington, DC—Nevada’s congressional delegation today called on all Nevadans to sign the petition against Yucca Mountain.  Tomorrow, the Department of Energy will walk the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) through the application it submitted to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. The NRC will then have until September 1, 2008 to determine whether to accept the Energy Department’s application for further review.  The petition calls on the NRC to reject the application, which contains designs for the dump that are only 35 percent complete and lacks a public safety plan in the event of an emergency.

“I urge all Nevadans to go to my website, reid.senate.gov, and sign the petition against Yucca Mountain,” Reid said.  “Just as the Nevada delegation is united in our fight against Yucca, it is important for all Nevadans to voice their opposition to the dump.  Nevada is not a wasteland, and I will continue working to cut even more funding from the Energy Department’s budget for Yucca Mountain this year.”

“As we stand together as a delegation and a state to fight Yucca Mountain, it is important that citizens in our state continue to voice their opposition as well,” said Ensign.  “I encourage all those opposed to Yucca Mountain to sign the petition to the Department of Energy on my website and to drive the final nail in the coffin of this nuclear waste dump.”

“Nevadans overwhelmingly oppose President Bush’s Yucca Mountain plan because it is not safe and the science has more holes than Swiss cheese.  There is absolutely no reason the NRC should engage in a rush job that could result in a politically charged decision two months before the elections.  Let’s get together and send a message to the NRC that they should reject this faulty application which fails to adequately address issues ranging from violent earthquakes to corroding canisters of toxic radioactive waste.  Not to mention the threat to 50 million Americans living along transportation routes that would see thousands of waste shipments as a result of President Bush’s Yucca Mountain plan,” said Congresswoman Berkley.            

“Yucca Mountain is not, and will never be, a partisan issue for Nevadans,” said Porter.  “I am proud to continue to fight side-by-side with my colleagues in the delegation and now everyone has the opportunity to speak up by signing this petition.  We will continue to win battles if we are united in our opposition, and together we will ensure the federal government ends this senseless project.”

“With the successful efforts of the Nevada delegation, we have been able to strip funds from the Yucca Mountain project and place it on the path to termination.  I encourage my fellow Nevadans to voice their opposition, sign this petition, and put an end to this ill-conceived and deeply flawed project,” said Heller.  

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