Hearings on Nuclear Site Challenged
LAS VEGAS — Nevada plans to ask a court to block the Energy Department from holding a series of public hearings on a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain.
Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, charged Wednesday that the meetings are being held prematurely. The public meetings are one of the last steps before a recommendation on the site is made to President Bush.
The state will ask the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to block the hearings because the final environmental impact studies have not been released by the agency, Loux said.
“We don’t think [public hearings] can take place until an environmental impact statement is done,†Loux said. “If you don’t know the impact, it’s impossible to have public comment.â€
Federal officials said the meetings--Wednesday in Las Vegas, Sept. 12 in Pahrump and Sept. 13 in Amargosa Valley near the site, about 90 miles north of Las Vegas--remain on schedule.
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