Gov. Brian Sandoval says he’ll continue to oppose the creation of a high-level nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain northwest of Las Vegas regardless of whether President elect-Donald Trump decides to back the idea.
The Republican governor told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he hasn’t talked to Trump and doesn’t know his position on the proposed waste repository. But he said it won’t affect his long-held opposition to Yucca Mountain.
Sandoval was responding to published reports that quoted unnamed sources saying Trump’s transition team is discussing the possibility of reviving the project that Nevada’s congressional delegation has unanimously opposed and retiring Sen. Harry Reid repeatedly has declared dead.
A Wall Street Journal editorial earlier this week urged Trump to revive the Yucca Mountain repository to address the growing stockpiles of nuclear waste at sites around the country.
“It won’t change my position on Yucca Mountain,” Sandoval said. “As far as I am concerned the state will continue to aggressively oppose the siting of storage of high-level nuclear waste there.”
Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., said in a statement that Trump and Republicans in Congress “must understand that Yucca Mountain is a boondoggle of epic proportions.”
“It will cost taxpayers billions of dollars to complete and require years of construction and implementation,” she said.
The Sierra Club and others criticized Trump’s only known comment on Yucca Mountain in a visit to Las Vegas in early October. When asked about the project then, Trump said: “I will tell you I’m going to take a look at it because so many people here are talking about it. I’ll take a look at it, and the next time you interview me, I’ll have an answer.”
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