Lisa Murkowski: “you might ask, why would a Senator from Alaska even care about a facility in California that is not needed to dispose of…”

“you might ask, why would a Senator from Alaska even care about a facility in California that is not needed to dispose of radioactive waste generated in Alaska? We don't generate hardly any. Part of the answer involves my responsibilities as the chairman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and our oversight responsibilities. Not surprisingly, my position on Ward Valley is the same one taken by my predecessor as chairman, Bennett Johnston of Louisiana. He understood, as I do, that Ward Valley is really more than a debate over the future of a thousand acres of land in the Mojave Desert; it is more than a debate over the disposition of low-level radioactive waste in California, Arizona, and the Dakotas; it is even more than the debate over the viability or even the future of the Low- Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act. I suggest there is much more at stake. I am taking on this battle because there is an intrinsic value in opposing the careless disregard of science and the decisionmaking process. It's important to stand up against those who engage in this dangerous manipulation of public fear. It is my job to work against the oppression of the public good by a vocal few.”