Minnick: Let Science Decide N-Waste

Democratic Senate candidate Walt Minnick says the question of the where to put nuclear waste should simply be turned over to a panel of scientists to decide.

Once scientists decide where to put long-lived radioactive waste, based on scientific factors, that decision should be put to Congress on an up-or-down basis, similar to the way military base closures are handled, Minnick said.

“I’d go to the senators of Nevada, New Mexico, other Western states, to try to get them to agree in advance to abide by the panel’s decision,” Minnick said Friday, during taping of the weekend “Viewpoint” program on KTVB. “If they came back and said Idaho’s the place, fair is fair. I’d agree with that if they agreed to put it in Nevada, if that’s what the scientists said.”

Minnick has announced for the Democratic nomination in next May’s primary election to run against Republican Sen. Larry Craig. When he announced last month, he said he was starting his campaign because of the nuclear waste agreement signed by Gov. Phil Batt with the Navy and Department of Energy.

Minnick called that agreement “a bum deal” for Idaho, and repeated his claim it wasn’t Batt’s fault he was forced into a bad deal, because Craig and other members of the state’s congressional delegation did little to help him.