Idaho, Nevada Fight Over Nuclear Waste Politicians Oppose More N-Waste At Inel, While Others Work Against Temporary Dump

A possible way out of the dilemma of resumed dumping of nuclear waste in Idaho for Gov. Phil Batt and the state’s Republican congressional delegation has been blocked by Nevada’s two Democratic senators.

But U.S. Rep. Michael Crapo, R-Idaho, kept the prospect alive Wednesday in a House committee.

Nevada Sens. Harry Reid and Richard Bryan used threats of delaying tactics and parliamentary maneuvering to convince Senate leaders to delete a provision in the $20 billion energy and resource appropriations bill that would have authorized a temporary radioactive waste dump in their state.

In the House Commerce Committee, however, Crapo won approval for temporary waste storage in Nevada and ensured that the storage scheme would include waste from the nuclear Navy.

Nevada long has been the site chosen by Congress for the nation’s permanent nuclear dump, and part of that deal was a prohibition against also locating a temporary dump there.

But with increasing public focus on America’s dilemma over nuclear waste storage and with the federal government legally being obligated to take over storage of commercial waste in 1998, key lawmakers in both chambers won committee support for repeal of the prohibition, clearing the way for temporarily dumping waste in Nevada within three years.

The move was seen as a major victory for Idaho because it would eliminate the need to resume dumping at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. Armed with polls showing up to 90 percent of the state’s residents opposed to further dumping, Batt has fought vigorously to keep in effect the mid-1993 ban on more waste shipments to INEL. He maintains the government was wrong when it determined another 165 tons of waste could be dumped safely on top of the 261 tons already stored in eastern Idaho.

A federal judge has gone along, at least until he can review fully the state’s safety arguments.

But now the Navy, claiming it must resume waste shipments to Idaho immediately to preserve national security, has built up substantial support for a congressional override of that court order.

And while Idaho’s Republican senators say they may be able to block that effort, most officials both inside and outside Idaho agree a congressional override of the ban on shipments will pass easily if put to a vote.The House could adopt the override legislation this week when it considers the national security appropriation.

Because of that likely outcome, state officials had viewed the opening of Nevada for temporary storage as a way out of seeing substantially more waste dumped at INEL.

But Bryan and Reid, spurred by their own electorate strongly opposed to radioactive dumping in Nevada, advised Senate leaders that they would throw up enough obstacles if the spending bill was not changed that the schedule for this month’s congressional recess would be thwarted.