The Yucca Mountain Project is the Department of Energy’s (DOE) proposed geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants and high-level radioactive waste from national defense sources. Yucca Mountain is located 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas in Nye County, Nevada.

The City’s Position
The city of Las Vegas is opposed to the location of a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain.

• The city opposes all legislation that would require or allow transportation of radioactive waste near or through the city of Las Vegas.
• The city supports at reactor, on-site storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste and a shift in funding to find a scientifically defensible and publicly acceptable method of disposal.
• The city supports the research and use of alternative renewable energy sources.

Background

• In 1987, Congress designated Yucca Mountain to be the only site in the nation to be studied and considered for permanent storage of the nation’s high-level nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel.
• On July 23, 2002, President George W. Bush signed a resolution to allow the DOE to proceed with its license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the only federal agency with the authority to approve the development of a nuclear repository.

The Impact of Yucca Mountain on City Residents

• Transportation - The transportation of nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain is the most significant issue to city of Las Vegas residents. If Yucca Mountain is licensed, spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste could be transported across 43 states to Nevada for at least 24 years.
  
  A combination of trucks and rail lines would mostly likely be used. The nation’s system of interstate highways is the default route for trucks, unless and until individual states designate alternative routes. In southern Nevada, highways that could be affected include I-15, I-93, I-95, I-215 and state highway 160. Two types of trucks would be involved - legal-weight and heavy-haul. The extreme length of a heavy-haul vehicle, about 220 feet, would significantly impact traffic flow on any highway considered.
• Public Safety and Unfunded Mandates - There will be significant impacts to the agencies charged with protecting the health, safety and welfare of citizens in the event of an emergency in or near the city of Las Vegas.
  
  Additional costs to fire, police, and emergency management public safety agencies throughout Clark County total approximately $3.8 billion, projected over the estimated 24-year transportation campaign. Impacts and costs included in the most recent studies are the additional costs that the public agencies would incur as a direct result of the repository and shipping campaign.
• Property Values - Property value losses may occur along the transportation corridor if the DOE proceeds with truck shipments of high-level nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain. According to a survey of Clark County lenders and appraisers, property values may decrease from 2 to 3.5 percent even if no accident occurs. In the event of a minor transportation accident, property value losses could rise to 6.2 to 8 percent within one mile of the shipment route.
• Tourism - Las Vegas would likely experience a decrease in tourism if a minor or major accident involving high-level waste occurs in the area. The Nevada Resort Association has stated that any news about the transportation of radioactive materials could damage the reputation and economy of Las Vegas.

Setbacks
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act directed the DOE to begin accepting high-level waste in 1998. The program has experienced several setbacks, which have resulted in the completion date being revised to sometime between 2012 and 2017. These setbacks include:

• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia overturned the EPA’s 10,000-year radiation health protection standard. The DOE must incorporate a new EPA-issued standard into its scientific analyses before submitting a license application to the NRC.
• The DOE suffered serious credibility setbacks when e-mails written by U.S. Geological Survey employees working on the Yucca Mountain project became public, indicating that documents related to climate and water infiltration studies had been falsified.
• The Walker River Paiute Tribe had allowed the DOE to study a proposed route through its reservation, which would have made rail construction significantly faster and cheaper for the DOE, reducing the impact to southern Nevada in terms of rail shipments. The tribe withdrew its approval in early 2007, forcing the DOE to abandon that alternative route.

Current Issues

• Legislation – Several bills are pending in Congress related to Yucca Mountain, which center on funding, interim storage and the rights of Nevada’s state and local governments’ in terms of environmental and public safety protections.
• Image – The DOE has experienced opposition in its attempts to convey information about Yucca Mountain. For example, in June 2007 Congress cut off funding for a Web site featuring the “Yucca Mountain Johnny” cartoon character. Opponents to the site said the games and activities for children promoted a one-sided, unbalanced point of view regarding the disposal of nuclear waste.
• NIMBY – Much of the national debate includes charges that Nevadans simply do not want more nuclear waste based on the “Not in my back yard” mentality. While congressional legislators continually voice the opinion that Yucca Mountain is what is best for the nation, members of Congress who have nuclear waste in their districts typically want it out of their state.

Target dates for Yucca Mountain

Licensing support network certification  - Dec. 21, 2007
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement  - May 30, 2008
Final rail alignment EIS - June 30, 2008
License application submitted - June 30, 2008
License application docketed by NRC - Sept. 30, 2008
Start rail construction in Nevada - Oct. 5, 2009
NRC construction authorization - Sept. 30, 2011
Complete rail line - June 30, 2014
Construction for initial operations complete - March 30, 2016
Begin accepting waste at Yucca Mountain - March 31, 2017

The above schedule by the DOE does not take into account potential funding cuts, litigation, procedural delays or a more lengthy review by the NRC. The DOE admits that 2020 is more realistic.

The Yucca Mountain Project is the Department of Energy’s (DOE) proposed geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants and high-level radioactive waste from national defense sources. Yucca Mountain is located 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas in Nye County, Nevada.

The City’s Position
The city of Las Vegas is opposed to the location of a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain.

• The city opposes all legislation that would require or allow transportation of radioactive waste near or through the city of Las Vegas.
• The city supports at reactor, on-site storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste and a shift in funding to find a scientifically defensible and publicly acceptable method of disposal.
• The city supports the research and use of alternative renewable energy sources.

Background

• In 1987, Congress designated Yucca Mountain to be the only site in the nation to be studied and considered for permanent storage of the nation’s high-level nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel.
• On July 23, 2002, President George W. Bush signed a resolution to allow the DOE to proceed with its license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the only federal agency with the authority to approve the development of a nuclear repository.

The Impact of Yucca Mountain on City Residents

• Transportation - The transportation of nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain is the most significant issue to city of Las Vegas residents. If Yucca Mountain is licensed, spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste could be transported across 43 states to Nevada for at least 24 years.
  
  A combination of trucks and rail lines would mostly likely be used. The nation’s system of interstate highways is the default route for trucks, unless and until individual states designate alternative routes. In southern Nevada, highways that could be affected include I-15, I-93, I-95, I-215 and state highway 160. Two types of trucks would be involved - legal-weight and heavy-haul. The extreme length of a heavy-haul vehicle, about 220 feet, would significantly impact traffic flow on any highway considered.
• Public Safety and Unfunded Mandates - There will be significant impacts to the agencies charged with protecting the health, safety and welfare of citizens in the event of an emergency in or near the city of Las Vegas.
  
  Additional costs to fire, police, and emergency management public safety agencies throughout Clark County total approximately $3.8 billion, projected over the estimated 24-year transportation campaign. Impacts and costs included in the most recent studies are the additional costs that the public agencies would incur as a direct result of the repository and shipping campaign.
• Property Values - Property value losses may occur along the transportation corridor if the DOE proceeds with truck shipments of high-level nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain. According to a survey of Clark County lenders and appraisers, property values may decrease from 2 to 3.5 percent even if no accident occurs. In the event of a minor transportation accident, property value losses could rise to 6.2 to 8 percent within one mile of the shipment route.
• Tourism - Las Vegas would likely experience a decrease in tourism if a minor or major accident involving high-level waste occurs in the area. The Nevada Resort Association has stated that any news about the transportation of radioactive materials could damage the reputation and economy of Las Vegas.

Setbacks
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act directed the DOE to begin accepting high-level waste in 1998. The program has experienced several setbacks, which have resulted in the completion date being revised to sometime between 2012 and 2017. These setbacks include:

• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia overturned the EPA’s 10,000-year radiation health protection standard. The DOE must incorporate a new EPA-issued standard into its scientific analyses before submitting a license application to the NRC.
• The DOE suffered serious credibility setbacks when e-mails written by U.S. Geological Survey employees working on the Yucca Mountain project became public, indicating that documents related to climate and water infiltration studies had been falsified.
• The Walker River Paiute Tribe had allowed the DOE to study a proposed route through its reservation, which would have made rail construction significantly faster and cheaper for the DOE, reducing the impact to southern Nevada in terms of rail shipments. The tribe withdrew its approval in early 2007, forcing the DOE to abandon that alternative route.

Current Issues

• Legislation – Several bills are pending in Congress related to Yucca Mountain, which center on funding, interim storage and the rights of Nevada’s state and local governments’ in terms of environmental and public safety protections.
• Image – The DOE has experienced opposition in its attempts to convey information about Yucca Mountain. For example, in June 2007 Congress cut off funding for a Web site featuring the “Yucca Mountain Johnny” cartoon character. Opponents to the site said the games and activities for children promoted a one-sided, unbalanced point of view regarding the disposal of nuclear waste.
• NIMBY – Much of the national debate includes charges that Nevadans simply do not want more nuclear waste based on the “Not in my back yard” mentality. While congressional legislators continually voice the opinion that Yucca Mountain is what is best for the nation, members of Congress who have nuclear waste in their districts typically want it out of their state.

Target dates for Yucca Mountain

Licensing support network certification  - Dec. 21, 2007
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement  - May 30, 2008
Final rail alignment EIS - June 30, 2008
License application submitted - June 30, 2008
License application docketed by NRC - Sept. 30, 2008
Start rail construction in Nevada - Oct. 5, 2009
NRC construction authorization - Sept. 30, 2011
Complete rail line - June 30, 2014
Construction for initial operations complete - March 30, 2016
Begin accepting waste at Yucca Mountain - March 31, 2017

The above schedule by the DOE does not take into account potential funding cuts, litigation, procedural delays or a more lengthy review by the NRC. The DOE admits that 2020 is more realistic.