Shelley Berkley: “During the campaign, President Obama pledged to Nevadans that he would kill the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository…”

“During the campaign, President Obama pledged to Nevadans that he would kill the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository project. He has kept his word. Yesterday, the Energy Department moved to pull the license for the dump. The President's blue ribbon panel will meet this month to find an alternative to Yucca Mountain. But I think it is important for me to reexplain why the opposition to Yucca Mountain is so strong, not only throughout the State of Nevada, but throughout the United States. There is a very long history here. As we refer to it in Nevada, the so-called 'Screw Nevada' bill that was passed over two decades ago decided there were three sites that were supposed to be considered for the disposition of nuclear waste. All of a sudden, in the 'Screw Nevada' bill there was one State, and we had the honor of being selected as the State that got screwed by the United States Congress. So this was always a political decision. It never was based on sound science. Let me tell you what the proposal of this bill was: 77,000 tons of toxic radioactive nuclear waste being shipped across 43 States to be buried in a hole in the Nevada desert where we have groundwater issues, seismic activity and volcanic activity, and 90 miles from a major population center in the western United States. This was never based on sound science, and it never was a viable option.”