Nuclear waste storage could disrupt Nevada’s US Senate race

More than 3.5 million pounds of highly radioactive nuclear waste are buried on a coastal bluff just south of Orange County, near an idyllic beach whose name is recorded in the Beaches’ iconic “Surfin’ USA.” Boys.

Spent fuel rods from the shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant were supposed to be sent to a long-planned federal repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

But vehement opposition from a broad, bipartisan coalition of Nevada’s political, business, environmental and tribal leaders has blocked the creation of the San Onofre Federal Nuclear Waste Cemetery, as well as more than 100 other sites. Across the country.

Yucca Mountain is a third rail in Nevada politics – similar to the limits placed on property tax increases in California by Proposition 13. That’s why presidents of both parties have backed away from creating a repository in the Silver State, whose voters are increasingly essential to victory. White House.

All of which makes Nevada GOP Senate candidate Sam Brown’s comments about Yucca Mountain so remarkable.

In recent years, Brown has supported the opening of the facility, calling its failure “an incredible loss of revenue for our state.” Asked about the comments in the context of a Senate race that could determine which party controls the Senate after the November elections, Brown did not reiterate his support but said he favored increased efforts to diversify the economy of the State without sacrificing security.

Yucca Mountain was approved by Congress more than two decades ago, but Nevada politicians from both parties blocked funding appropriations so only preliminary work was completed on the repository.

Brown was asked about the future of the project two years ago.

“If we don’t act quickly, other states … are evaluating whether or not they can steal this opportunity from us,” Brown said. said in response to a question during a 2022 Southern Hills Republican Women’s luncheon at Dragon Ridge Country Club in Henderson, Nevada.

“We all know that Nevada could use another great source of revenue and it would be a shame if we didn’t monopolize it and become a hub for new developments that we can do in Yucca,” he said. said in a recording of the meeting obtained by the Times.

Brown’s campaign did not respond when asked if his remarks represented his current views on Yucca Mountain, but provided a statement from the Army veteran.

“I am always interested in economic opportunities for Nevada that better diversify our economy. As your next senator, I will explore every avenue available to make Nevada as prosperous as possible while continuing to protect the security of our water supply, increase tourism revenue, and expand opportunities for all businesses.” , Brown said. “With energy prices doubling in the last year, we need leadership to explore all energy solutions for a better Nevada.”

Sam Brown, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Nevada, speaks to reporters in 2022.

(Tom R. Smedes / Associated Press)

Brown is the favorite in the GOP Senate primary, which takes place June 11 and will determine which Republican faces Democratic incumbent Sen. Jacky Rosen in the fall.

A spokesman for Rosen said the Republican’s position endangers Nevadans and makes him unfit to represent the state.

“Nevada Republicans and Democrats have fought for decades against the storage of hazardous nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, but Sam Brown agrees with Washington, D.C. politicians in Congress who still want to make Nevada the national toxic waste dump “said spokesperson Johanna Warshaw.

Although the creation of a long-term radioactive waste repository on federal land at Yucca Mountain, near a historic nuclear testing range, was approved by Congress in 2002, efforts to build it have been blocked by Presidents Obama, Trump and Biden, partly out of gratitude. of the importance of Nevadans in national politics as well as the power of Sin City’s casinos.

Three in four likely voters in the state opposed the project in a 2017 poll conducted for the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Although the state has become increasingly Democratic in recent years and voted against Trump in the last two presidential elections, Nevada is expected to be hotly contested in the November election. Trump leads Biden by 3.2 points in an average of recent polls, according to Real Clear Politics.

Nevada is also among the states that will determine which party controls the Senate, where Democrats currently have a 51-49 majority. Although Rosen is performing better than Biden, the race is considered one of the Senate races the most competitive in the country.

Brown, in his 2022 remarks, said a “lack of understanding” and “fear-mongering” by the late former Sen. Harry Reid, a Democratic powerhouse, and others would ultimately harm the economy of the state.

But many Nevada Republicans also opposed the plan, including former governors. Brian Sandoval and Jim Gibbons, representing Mark Amodei, former attorney. Gen. Adam Laxalt and former Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, as well as business groups such as the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and the Las Vegas Convention And Visitors Authority. Some residents of rural Nevada supported the creation of the depot for economic reasons.

A bipartisan vote to advance Yucca Mountain, long blocked by Reid, occurred in 2018 as Rosen, then a congressman, was running against Republican Sen. Dean Heller. Although the proposal passed the House, Heller effectively blocked funding for the creation of the repository in the Senate before Rosen defeated him in the general election.

Trump and Biden have both said they would not fund the project, but Nevadans were alarmed earlier this month by pro-Yucca comments made by lawmakers during a House committee hearing. Energy and Commerce Committee of the House of Representatives, which were seen as a signal that there would be renewed efforts. store nuclear waste in its original state.

“The opposition is not security or technical,” said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), committee chairwoman. “It’s political. Opposition from states like Nevada in particular to this program hampered congressional appropriations and led the executive branch to dismantle what was otherwise a technically successful program.

Michael Green, a history professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, predicted that Brown’s comments would come back to haunt him.

“I can imagine the ads about the dangers and accidents of nuclear power and so on,” Green said. “I don’t think he did himself any favors.”