Yucca Mountain News Clips
Friday, August 6, 2004
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Las Vegas SUN
August 06, 2004
Editorial: A vision of future shock
Las Vegas SUN
Those who feel confident in the Energy Department's assurances that Yucca Mountain will safely contain nuclear waste should reflect on the department's regard for the safety of its drilling contractors. Tunneling began in 1992 and for the following eight years the workers' risk of contracting a fatal lung disease held a lower priority than keeping on schedule. Memos uncovered by the Sun's Washington reporter, Suzanne Struglinski, prove that the Energy Department had early warning about the danger silica dust poses to tunnelers. Yet it failed to warn or protect them.
A memo dated July 1992, from the department's safety manager to the Yucca Mountain project manager, for example, outlines a silica sampling plan that should have been undertaken during the boring. Another memo, dated August 1994, from the Yucca project's assistant manager for environment, safety and health, warned the project's technical office that those working in the tunnel "must use appropriate respiratory protection." Two years later this assistant manager sent another memo to the technical staff, saying that the disposable respirators in use were not providing sufficient protection.
These memos, and several others that were among nearly 6 million pages the Energy Department submitted in June as part of its application for a license to open Yucca Mountain, prove that the Energy Department was well aware of the silica danger. Yet for years the department did not warn the workers. And it failed to ensure that proper equipment was worn and that proper safeguards, such as ventilation, were undertaken.
An April 2001 memo shows the Energy Department understood its liability. Written by a department industrial hygienist, the memo advised that workers exposed to silica, which causes incurable lung disease, be monitored "through the rest of their lives." The memo warned that the issue "may become newsworthy" and that "lawsuits, public affairs and medical surveillance will be shared problems."
The memo was prescient about lawsuits. A class-action suit was filed earlier this year by former tunnel workers. Before the suit was filed, but in response to pressure from former workers, the department began a program to screen former workers for any signs of silicosis. We view the Energy Department's disregard of silica danger as analogous to its whole approach to Yucca Mountain -- driven by deadlines, not science or safety. What is Nevada not being warned about? What after-the-fact mitigation program awaits us?
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Water Strategist
August 5, 2004
Yucca Mountain—The Issue Shifts Back To Congress
By: Robert R. Loux, Executive Director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects Nuclear Waste Project Office
On July 9 the Court of Appeals ruled that the federal radiation standards for Yucca Mountain-the Nevada location the Energy Department picked to bury the nation's nuclear waste-were too lax. Congress had told the Environmental Protection Agency and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 1992 to prescribe standards in accord with the recommendations of the National Academy of Science. Both agencies ignored the Academy's 1995 recommendation on this point. The Court has now told them to return to the Academy's tighter standard.
The problem for DOE is that the project probably can't meet the Academy's standard. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham seems to agree the project is now headed up a blind alley-he says he may have to go to Congress to get the Court's ruling reversed.
What the Court did specifically was to throw out an NRC standard that required DOE to show that the radiation leakage from the waste dump will be limited for 10,000 years. That sounds like a long time, but it is not really the precise duration that is at issue. The National Academy said the important thing was that the radiation standard covers "the time when the greatest risk occurs."
DOE managed, by making extremely optimistic assumptions about the corrosion resistance of their "miracle metal" waste package, to produce computer simulation model projections that put off the maximum impact after the 10,000 year point. They then argued, in effect, that nothing mattered but the waste packages-that the site geology didn't really come into it.
And NRC was going along with this logic. Under the NRC standard it didn't matter that the radiation dose exceeded the standard after the packages failed-which it did. DOE did not have to confront the consequences of radioactive leakage into ground water, which then served as a conveyer belt away from the site and toward populated areas. It was all pretty blatant.
Nevada never bought the "miracle metal" story. As the site combines rainwater, oxygen, complex minerals, and heat-which together spell corrosion-Nevada's experts believe the packages will corrode and leak rapidly. Nevada-funded corrosion research at Catholic University backed this up.
Perhaps more importantly, the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, a federal scientific agency which provides independent oversight over the DOE waste program, didn't buy DOE's story, either. Last November the unanimous Board, half of whose members were appointed by President George W. Bush, wrote DOE that they believed "all the conditions necessary to initiate localized corrosion of the waste packages will likely be present" and that "widespread corrosion" was likely before about the 1,000 year point "with possible release of radionuclides." It didn't seem to have much effect-DOE is not good at listening. And the "independent" NRC is as anxious to get the site approved as DOE is.
Nevada has complained for years that the site's geology is bad for siting a radioactive waste dump-Yucca Mountain is a basically a geologic sieve-and that it should never have been selected. We are learning more and more that it is in fact uniquely bad. Elsewhere in the world the responsible organizations aim to contain the radioactive wastes in a sound geologic medium; DOE aims only to delay the inevitable leakage. We have argued this approach to radioactive waste disposal is irresponsible because it can fail badly and soon if DOE's packages turn out to be less corrosion-resistant than advertised. But despite all this we have been stymied by DOE and NRC willingness to rely on the waste packages alone and to take a rosy view of their survival chances.
It was precisely to force attention to the geology that Nevada appealed to the Court. The Court gave us what we wanted, albeit indirectly. By striking down the arbitrary 10,000-year standard and requiring DOE to show it won't over-radiate nearby populations, the Court forced consideration of what happens when the waste packages fail, never mind when. It could come early if you believe Nevada and the NWTRB, or it could come late if you believe DOE. But no matter when it is, DOE has to demonstrate by computer simulation model that the geologic media around Yucca Mountain will be effective in keeping the waste's radioactivity from humans. The key change isn't so much the length of time as the fact that DOE and NRC will now have to evaluate the geologic adequacy of the site, something they were trying to avoid.
A couple of years ago, Energy Secretary Abraham assured Congress the Yucca Mountain project was based on "sound science." If he now appeals to Congress for laxer radiation standards than those recommended by the National Academy of Science, on the grounds that they threaten the multi-billion dollar project, Congress should tell him that public protection comes first.
Mr. Loux has been the Executive Director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects Nuclear Waste Project Office since its creation in 1983. He is responsible for the staffing, organization, and direction of the Office. Mr. Loux has worked for six Nevada governors on high-level radioactive waste management and other energy policy issues.
Mr. Loux obtained a bachelors degree in education from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1972, a master degree education administration in 1974 and has been employed by the State of Nevada since 1976. Mr. Loux's work for the State has been primarily in the energy policy arena, with emphasis on high-level radioactive waste management.
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Nevada Appeal
Thursday, August 05, 2004
Nuke-waste shipments open to hacker attack
When the technical problems and the uncertainties at Yucca Mountain were turned over, to the legal minds and forwarded to the courts, I figured now the voices of Nevada would be heard. Should the voices of Nevada fade away because the Department of Energy is continuing to dig its way through that mountain?
Based on the article that appeared in the Nevada Appeal on June 25, the Nevada state government computer systems have been victims of "hacker attacks." In 1997, the DOE distrib-uted a bill draft throughout the state. The adjusted document, according to the procedure, became an official contract and was awarded to Bechtel (handling large-scale construction sites around the world) and SAIC (Science Applications International), owned by approximately 40,000 of its employees. Both companies have highly impressive backgrounds, but all the actual shipments will be con-trolled by computers. Will these "hacker attacks" suddenly disap-pear?
There is nothing in the original bill draft to indicate there were any spe-cial precautions taken regarding hackers or security. After 9/11, there should have been an amendment to the contract. Security, we now real-ize, is an extremely serious problem. Will the truck drivers and railroad. employees handling this deadly haz-ardous material have proper security clearance?
A month ago, I called the DOE and requested a copy of the contract and was advised to "put my request in the form of a letter" which I did, but as of this moment, there has been no reply. The problems with hackers, the question of security and, again,. there are disks missing from Los Alamos. You never know what's going to hap-pen.
Shirley Swafford
Carson City
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Nevada Appeal
Friday, August 06, 2004
Yucca fight influencing voters in Silver State
Pollster Brad Coker's Mason-Dixon poll shows that Sen. John Kerry could carry Nevada because of the Yucca Mountain issue, and it is still affecting voters. How could this be? In the words of the ancient prophet, hove you not heard? have you not seen?
Attorney General Brian Sandoval said that Nevada scored an incredible victory in the recent federal district court decisions concerning the repos-itory. Premature claims of its death, as stated by Bob Loux, ore blatantly mis-leading. Attorney Joe Egan com-pounds irrationality by stating that the EPA "cannot meet" the 10,000-year radiation safety rule "because the radiation will leak like a sieve." How does Egan know? Will he best Methuselah by verifying this? Worse, why does the media allow these men to pass these statements off as fact?
News sources like CNN, Fox and NBC all declare that Nevada lost the recent court skirmishes. In fact, the Department of Energy has for many years exhibited responsible, docu-mented, scientific quality control in respect to storage of spent rods. Fur-ther, DOE should be able to surmount the 10,000-year burden by asking Congress to change the law, work with the EPA to rewrite the standard, or in the courts.
Finally, in due time, the spent fuel rods might be utilized in the future through new technology. Further, DOE is still moving forward with the license application for the repository. Evidently, Nevada voters know that the Yucca fight is not over, and that this fact will influence their choice for president.
Stanley W. Paher
Reno
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Nevada Appeal
Friday, August 06, 2004
Kerry has right stance on Yucca Mountain
As a military officer who com-manded nuclear weapons, I support Sen. John Kerry's position to kill plans for the Yucca Mountain dump site if he's elected.
As a frequent visitor to Las Vegas from Southern California, I always felt it made no logistic sense to put such a hazardous waste dump so close to one of the nation's leading tourist attractions. Sen. John Ensign contin-ues to cloud the issue, but the fact remains George W Bush signed the order to make Yucca Mountain the nation's nuclear waste repository.
Maj. Robert Tormey
U.S. Air Force, ret.
Escondido Calif.
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Las Vegas Review-Journal
August 06, 2004
Letter: Problem solved
To the editor:
According to a July 30 Review-Journal article, "Scientists shift view on Yucca," because, "Potential corrosion of canisters now of less concern to review board." This is great news. These wonderful new containers should make it possible for states to keep their own nuclear materials just where they are and not have to transport them to Nevada.
Since board director William Barnard asserts that "science is evolving" in nuclear storage, one can assume only that individual states will be able to store their own toxic waste in the near future.
The citizens of Nevada need to thank the members of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board for resolving our thorny Yucca Mountain problem once and for all.
James F. Patton
Las Vegas
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Las Vegas Review-Journal
August 06, 2004
Kerry campaign plans Las Vegas stop
Democrats to hold Tuesday rally at Thomas & Mack
By Erin Neff
Review-Journal
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, will bring a leg of the campaign's "Believe in America" tour to Las Vegas next week with a public rally.
The only event announced Thursday by the campaign is an evening rally Tuesday at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The exact time of the event has not been determined.
The trip will be Kerry's third this year to Nevada, a key battleground state and one of the most closely contested in several recent national polls. President Bush has not been to Las Vegas this year, but he visited Reno in June.
The White House releases the president's travel schedule a week in advance, and some local Republicans said they've been told Bush will be in Las Vegas on Thursday, but Bush-Cheney and White House media officials have not confirmed that.
"Senator Kerry has a distinct advantage here in Nevada because Senator Kerry has voted numerous times against sending deadly nuclear waste to this state," former Gov. Bob Miller said Thursday at the Cox Pavilion while announcing Kerry's visit. "The president has had but one vote, and it was to screw Nevada."
Yucca Mountain has been a centerpiece of the race in Nevada because of Bush's statements as a candidate in 2000 that he would base any decision about a nuclear waste repository on "sound science, not politics." Democrats say Bush went back on that promise when he approved Yucca Mountain as the repository site despite remaining scientific concerns.
Republicans say that Bush was relying on years of study by the Department of Energy and that they believe scientific concerns will be answered either by the courts or by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in its licensing of the project.
Last week, Republican Sen. John Ensign criticized Kerry for voting in 1987 to narrow the future study of a national repository to only one site: Yucca Mountain. Kerry voted against bills seeking interim storage of waste at Yucca, and in 2002 he voted with Nevada's senators to block Bush's designation of the site.
Kerry Nevada campaign spokesman Sean Smith said he expects Kerry to talk about Yucca Mountain during his trip next week.
"That's never been John Kerry's problem," Smith said.
Kerry has vowed that Yucca Mountain "will not be a repository" if he's elected, but he has not offered specifics on how he would kill the project.
The Kerry-Edwards campaign also is hoping to hold an event in Las Vegas that highlights a specific issue, probably before the public rally Tuesday.
Exact details of the campaign's arrival and route have not been finalized, nor has a decision on whether to visit Northern Nevada.
When the tour began immediately after the Democratic National Convention in Boston, vice presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards was on the bus with Kerry. He then went on a separate tour, mostly in Southern states, and met up again with Kerry on Thursday in St. Louis.
From St. Louis, the two men began an 1,800-mile trip West. The train is expected to stop Sunday night in Arizona. Edwards is not expected to visit Nevada next week.
The rally will be free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Tickets can be obtained by calling the state Democratic Party at 737-VOTE or by sending an e-mail request to rsvp@nvdems.com.
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U.S. Newswire
August 06, 2004
The Kerry-Edwards Energy Plan: Making America Safer Stronger and More Secure
To: National Desk, Political Reporter
Contact: Allison Dobson of Kerry-Edwards 2004, 202-464-2800, Web: http://www.johnkerry.com
SMITHVILLE, Mo., Aug. 6 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following fact sheet on the Kerry-Edwards Energy Plan was released today:
This week oil prices hit historic highs of $44 per barrel and some economists believe it could climb even higher. Yet even as gas prices reach the highest levels and America has become more dependent on foreign oil then ever before, the Bush-Cheney Administration has done nothing. In fact, their foreign policy has contributed to an additional $8-15 premium on oil prices and their own Administration says that their energy policy won't cut gas prices or reduce dependence.
Energy Dependence and Oil Prices at Record Levels
-- Oil prices have reached record highs of $44 a barrel
-- Higher prices are costing businesses billions of dollars. Farmers will pay an additional $1.4 billion this year. Truckers will pay at least $6.1 billion more and the airlines will pay $5.6 billion more than they did when Bush first took office.
-- Families are also being hard hit by record gas prices. A family with teenagers will pay $725 more this year on gas than they did before this Administration - a total of $2,846 this year.
-- We are more dependent on foreign oil than ever before as 61.7 percent of the oil consumed in the US is imported, up from 58.2 percent in 2000.
Kerry and Edwards understand that soaring energy costs are burdening middle-class families and businesses and that our dependence on Middle East oil is putting our national security at risk. They know America will be safer when the resources that fuel our economy are in our own hands and developed right here in America. That's why one of the very first campaign speeches John Kerry gave was on reducing our dependence on foreign oil. Kerry and Edwards will harness the full force of American ingenuity to create the energy of the future and make America independent of Middle East oil.
Goals of the Kerry-Edwards Energy Plan
-- From an increasingly dangerous dependence on foreign oil to a secure America, independent of Middle East oil
-- From higher prices and greater energy company profits to lowering energy bills for American consumers
-- From exporting the clean energy jobs of the 21st Century to reestablishing American leadership;
-- From focusing on the energy of the past to developing the clean energy of the future.
I. AN "ENERGY SECURITY TRUST FUND" TO ESTABLISH A MORE SECURE ENERGY FUTURE: John Kerry and John Edwards will create an "Energy Security and Conservation Trust Fund" - capitalized with over $20 billion from existing federal offshore oil and gas royalty revenues - to create a permanent funding stream to develop new clean fuels and technologies for our future. This Trust Fund would:
Increase Fuel Efficiency Now and Keep Jobs in America. Kerry and Edwards believe all Americans should drive the cars, SUVs, minivans and trucks of their choice, but that these vehicles can be more efficient, safer and more affordable. The Energy Security Trust Fund will foster innovation including building clean and efficient vehicles here in the U.S. Kerry-Edwards will:
-- Strengthen Fuel Efficiency of Automobiles;
-- Help Plants Retool: Provide new incentives to enable U.S. automobile manufacturing facilities to re-tool their plants to build the more efficient, advanced technology automobiles of the future;
-- Help American Consumers Purchase More Advanced Technology Vehicles by establishing consumer incentives of up to $5,000 per vehicle for the purchase of clean efficient vehicles;
-- Use Purchasing Power of the Federal Government towards supporting the market for hybrid and advanced diesel vehicles.
A New National Commitment to Alternative Fuels - 20 Percent by 2020. The Energy Trust Fund will also create a "Clean Fuels Partnership" that will bring together government, agriculture and industry to put America on a path to meeting 20 percent of its motor fuel demand with domestically-produced alternative transportation fuels by 2020. To meet this new goal, we will include policies to:
-- Establish a Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS): Gasoline sellers will be required to include an increasing percentage of renewable fuels from corn, soybeans, agricultural residues and other biomass to ensure a minimum of 5 billion gallons per year by 2012, a policy that has been languishing in the Republican- controlled Congress.
-- Accelerate the Production and Use of Ethanol and Biodiesel: The Kerry Administration will fund research and development to reduce the cost and expand production of new advanced biodiesel, cellulosic ethanol and other clean fuels from waste products in all regions of the US.
-- Extend the Ethanol Tax Incentive: Currently, tax incentives for renewable fuels are set to expire in 2007. Kerry and Edwards will extend them until 2020 and will include both ethanol and biodiesel. This will ensure ongoing development in the renewable fuels sector which will enhance diversification and reduce dependence on foreign oil.
-- Reinforce the Long Term Move to Hydrogen: The Clean Fuels Partnership would fund research to help solve critical problems in developing a hydrogen fuel economy, such as infrastructure needs and vehicle challenges. Kerry and Edwards believe our nation needs a strategy to reduce dependence on oil today, but they know we can develop a hydrogen-based economy for the future.
II. EASING ENERGY PRICES. The average household is paying at least $500 more for energy per year than they did during President Clinton's second term. Over the longer term, the Kerry-Edwards plan to encourage alternative supplies of energy and encourage conservation will result in lower energy prices. In the short turn, the key elements of the Kerry-Edwards plan to rein in out- of-control gas prices are:
-- Reestablish American Leadership Abroad: The Kerry-Edwards Administration will engage in aggressive, effective diplomacy that will reduce tension in the region and reduce the "risk premium" for oil.
-- Simplify Gasoline Rules: The more than 300 local and state fuel regulations result in a patchwork of gasoline zones, limiting flexibility in product distribution and price variation. A Kerry- Edwards Administration will work with States to develop rational fuel policies that ensure local air quality is protected while making gas more fungible from region to region to prevent price spikes and volatility.
-- Manage the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR): The Bush Administration has put the SPR on automatic pilot, diverting oil from the market to fill the SPR at a time of exceptional tightness in oil markets. A Kerry-Edwards Administration will establish strategic oil reserve policies that minimize the negative impact on consumers while ensuring our nation's energy security.
-- Ensure Fair Competition in the Marketplace: The Bush Federal Trade Commission has approved 33 takeovers in the oil and gas industry totaling $19.5 billion. During this period of increased concentration of refining capacity, gasoline prices have risen to record levels and refiners have enjoyed their highest profit margins since 1990. Kerry and Edwards believe the FTC needs to be more cautious about approving energy sector mergers in order to protect consumers.
-- Help Industry, Schools, and Homes Cut Their Energy Bills. Kerry and Edwards will enact efficiency standards and promotion measures to cut the federal government's energy bill by 20 percent (saving $2 billion a year) and will help states, municipalities, businesses, and consumers do the same. Studies have shown that the nation's schools, for example, could cut their energy bills - the 2nd largest expense after salaries for many schools - by 25 percent. And they will expand the federal home weatherization program to help millions of poor Americans cut their energy bills.
III. DIVERSIFYING SOURCES OF ENERGY: To make America independent of Middle East oil, we must find other sources of energy and get oil from other parts of the world. Kerry-Edwards will:
-- Pursue New Sources of Natural Gas and the Infrastructure Needed to Deliver It. High natural gas prices hurt American families and are forcing major industries to shut their doors or move overseas. Kerry-Edwards will work to enhance supply by supporting balanced exploration and production of natural gas by:
-- Developing Natural Gas Sources in places like the Western and Central Gulf of Mexico in areas already available for leasing and drilling - including ultra deep waters.
-- Constructing Infrastructure to Move Natural Gas from Alaska and Canada;
-- Promote the Safe and Effective Development of Liquefied Natural Gas.
-- Make Coal Part of the 21st Century Energy Solution. Kerry and Edwards believe that coal should be an integral part of the solution to our energy and environmental challenges and that we need to harness new technologies and new ideas to develop and deploy clean and reliable energy from coal. We will invest $10 billion over the next decade - a five-fold increase - to help transition from the current fleet of older coal plants to cleaner and more advanced coal-fueled power plants, such as by using coal gasification. Kerry-Edwards will leverage these public resources in the form of loan guarantees, tax credits, and other tools with private sector capital to deploy advanced technologies in the construction of new clean coal power plants so that we can modernize our power infrastructure, create new jobs, increase energy security, protect the environment, and ensure a future for coal. They reject the old view that coal cannot be part of a clean energy future and will begin to build the clean coal facilities of the future today. This will provide a more diversified role for coal and ensure that coal country is not left behind.
-- Ensure 20 percent of Our Electricity Comes From Renewable Sources By 2020. Kerry and Edwards will establish a national goal of producing 20 percent of our electricity from renewable sources, such as wind, solar, geothermal and biomass, by 2020. They support a renewable energy credit trading market so more renewable energy is deployed at lower costs and production tax credits to drive these technologies into the marketplace. This will help the U.S. regain the manufacturing leadership America has lost to foreign companies in the production of renewable energy technologies like solar panels and wind power.
-- A Balanced and Secure Future for Nuclear Power. Nuclear power provides about 20 percent of America's electricity today. Nuclear power can play an essential role in providing affordable energy while reducing the risk of climate change; however key challenges such as nuclear waste disposal, nuclear nonproliferation, and plant security must be met. Kerry and Edwards believe we should:
-- Proceed Based on Peer-Reviewed Science: Kerry and Edwards do not support Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste disposal site and will insist that nuclear waste disposal and transportation proceed only on the basis of rigorous peer-reviewed science and analysis that leads to public understanding and confidence.
-- Strengthen the International Nuclear Non-Proliferation so that nuclear power expansion is not used to disguise nuclear weapons aspirations, as in Iran, or as a source of nuclear explosives material for terrorists. The Bush Administration has been too slow in responding to the bipartisan calls for more aggressively working to control nuclear materials worldwide. Despite some welcome progress in Libya, we have gone backwards in North Korea and Iran. We need to strengthen Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty implementation, to provide secure nuclear fuel services to those countries not developing proliferation- risky technologies.
-- Diversify Supply of Oil Used in the United States. A Kerry- Edwards Administration will seek more diverse sources of oil around the world and here at home. They will encourage balanced development of domestic oil supplies in areas already open for exploration and expand develop supplies from non-OPEC nations like Russia, Canada, and nations in Africa.
IV. AVOIDING BLACKOUTS One year ago this month, America faced an historic blackout. Stretching from as far west as Detroit, the blackout covered much of Ontario, Canada, northern Ohio and extended all the way east to New York City. The largest electric blackout in North American history had, in a matter of minutes, suddenly plunged 50 million North Americans into darkness and forced thousands of businesses to abruptly close operations. Kerry and Edwards will address the vulnerability of our grid immediately and effectively.
-- Make the Electric Grid More Reliable and Safe. Last summer a cascading power outage left large parts of the country in the dark. Kerry and Edwards will address the vulnerability of our grid immediately and effectively by:
-- Enact Mandatory, Enforceable Reliability Standards for the industry.
-- Employ Innovative Technologies and cutting edge software capabilities to revolutionize our antiquated system and develop a "Smart Grid."
-- Deploy New Technologies that are clean, efficient, reliable and less vulnerable to terrorism.
V. CREATING 21ST CENTURY AMERICAN ENERGY JOBS America once led the world in the production of clean energy products like wind turbines and solar panels. In the past four years, many jobs have been created overseas. By aggressively pursuing renewable energy options like wind, biomass and solar, the Kerry-Edwards plan will create new economic opportunity for farmers, landowners and small businesses.
-- Investing in Energy Jobs: John Kerry and John Edwards know that the private sector creates jobs. A major gap exists today in the capital markets, slowing the deployment of clean energy technologies. The Kerry-Edwards Energy Trust Fund federal incentives, including loan guarantees, targeted grants, and tax credits, will encourage job creation. Additionally, to enhance capital availability, Kerry and Edwards support extension of the federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) to the full array of renewable technologies for a period of not less than 5-7 years. The unpredictability of frequent short term extensions, and expiration under the Bush Administration has significantly hindered investment. These public and private investments will create jobs and make our energy sector cleaner and more secure.
PLAN FULLY PAID FOR WHILE CUTTING THE DEFICIT. The Kerry- Edwards energy plan is paid for while keeping overall discretionary spending, outside of education and health care, growing less quickly than inflation. Specifically, the Kerry- Edwards plan would establish an Energy Security and Conservation Trust Fund capitalized with existing federal offshore oil and gas royalty revenues, this would provide a guaranteed funding stream for energy. The proposal would be made revenue neutral by using savings from the federal government's electricity bill (which is currently $8 billion a year) and the reauthorization of the superfund tax.
TOPIC................................DOLLARS
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ENERGY TRUST FUND...................$20 BILLION
- Help Auto Plants retool..........$10 BILLION
- Clean Fuels Partnership...........$5 BILLION (includes all research)
- Tax Credits.......................$5 BILLION
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COAL...............................$10 BILLION
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GROSS COST........................$30 BILLION
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OFFSETS.........................$34 BILLION (note)
Superfund.......................$18 BILLION (as scored by CBO)
Government Energy Savings.......$16 BILLION
Note: Other $4 billion helps pay for environment plan
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FAILED TO TURN THE CORNER Bush-Cheney Plan: Make America More Dependent and Soaring Gas Prices
America has failed to turn the corner on energy independence or reliability. Under the Bush-Cheney Administration, we have become MORE dependent on foreign oil and gas prices have soared too new highs, not only stretching the family budget, but adding difficult costs to business and threaten our economic security.
And we are one year past the largest blackout in North American history and the Bush Administration has held the energy bill hostage to the poison pill of drilling in the ANWR.
ONE YEAR LATER AND AMERICA'S ENERGY SYSTEM IS STILL NOT RELIABLE:
Bush Refuses to Support Legislation to Upgrade Our Electric Grid. George Bush has refused to support legislation that would upgrade our electric grid. "Nearly a year after the power blackout that left 50 million people in the dark, frustrated Democrats began a push yesterday to get the Republican-controlled House to schedule a vote on legislation that would improve the U.S. electricity grid. With time running out for Congress to pass a comprehensive energy bill, Democrats are demanding a vote on stand-alone legislation that would impose and enforce electric transmission reliability standards on U.S. utilities. The Bush administration and Republican lawmakers insist that electricity issues can be addressed only in a larger energy legislation package that also includes billions of dollars in tax breaks for oil, natural gas and coal firms." (Newsday, 7/21/04)
OIL PRICES REACH RECORD HIGHS:
Oil Prices Hit Historic Highs This Week. Over the past week, oil prices have continued to hit record highs. Reuters reported, "U.S. crude jumped to high of $44.50 a barrel, the highest level in the 21 years of U.S. oil futures trading, before settling at $44.41, up $1.58." (Reuters, 8/5/04)
BUSH FAILED TO TAKE ACTION TO LOWER GAS PRICES AS AMERICA BECOMES MORE DEPENDENT:
George Bush Broke His Promise. On February 10, 2004, OPEC announced an agreement to cut its output quotas by 1 million barrels per day, starting in March. By March 17, crude oil prices in New York reached a 13-year high of $38.18 per barrel. George Bush's silence on OPEC decisions has sent the signal that prices are not a concern. (Source: "Oil prices rise to 13-year high, threaten economy," Washington Times, March 18, 2004)
America Has Become More Dependent on Foreign Oil. Over the past four years, America has become increasingly dependent on foreign oil. In 2000, 58.2 percent of the oil consumed in the United States was imported. That has increased to 61.7 percent today. (EIA, "Overview of US Petroleum Trade")
Bush's Own Energy Information Administration Found the Bush Plan Wouldn't Impact Prices. Bush's own Energy Information Administration found that the effect of the proposal would be "negligible" with respect to production, consumption, imports, and energy prices. Just last week, the EIA reported that imported gasoline hit an all time high of 1.3 million barrels per day the week of April 16. (EIA, http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/twip/twip.asp)
FAILURE TO TURN CORNER HURTS FAMILIES AND INDUSTRY:
Household with Teenagers Pay $725 More For Gasoline. Households with teenagers are paying higher prices for gasoline than ever before. In the United States, households with teenagers are paying $759 more per year for gasoline since George Bush took office. They now pay on average $2,846 per year. (Department of Energy, Household Vehicles Energy Consumption 1994, Table 5.2, August 1997)
Farmers, Truckers and Airlines All Pay More. Farmers, truckers and airlines are all paying more a year because of the higher oil prices. Farmers will pay an additional $1.4 billion this year. Truckers will pay $6.1 billion more and the airlines will pay $5.6 billion more than they did when Bush first took office. (EIA price data, 8/3/04; Off-Highway Transportation Related Fuel Use, April 2004, Stacy C. Davis and Lorena Truett; Air Transportation Association, Q&A on the Impact of Rising Fuel Prices, 5/14/04; Letter from ATA CEO Bill Graves to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, 3/9/04)
FAILURE TO TURN CORNER DRIVES UP GAS PRICES:
Record Profits for Big Oil Companies While Consumers Are Gouged at the Pump: The higher overall gasoline prices have cost the American consumer a net of over $25 billion since George Bush took office. This money has gone directly from consumers pocketbooks into the hands of oil companies and oil producers, including OPEC. The big three oil companies in America have profited $33.6 billion over the past three years. (Based on EIA Monthly Energy Review; ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco and ConocoPhillips Company Financial Reports)
A Failed Foreign Policy That has Rattled World Oil Markets and Driven Up the Price of Gas. The Administration's failure to manage the war in Iraq has contributed to the increase in oil prices. "Estimating the fair value for oil prices at $27/bbl, one Wall Street analyst is questioning whether the $12/bbl premium is excessive or justified. The premium, the largest in 10 years, reflects recent terrorist-related attacks in southern Iraq at Basra and at Saudi Arabia's Yanbu refining and petrochemical complex, said Bruce Lanni of A.G. Edwards & Sons." (Octane Week, 5/10/04)
The White House Promised Their Energy Plan - Developed in Secret - Would Reduce Pump Prices Yet Their Own Administration Said It Would Have Negligible Impact. Q: How will it lead to lower prices at the gas pump now? THE PRESIDENT: Because we recognize that we need more supply. And when you read the report, you'll see that we've laid out constructive ways to make sure that there are more supply available." But, the Bush Administration's own Energy Information Administration found that the effect of the proposal would be "negligible" with respect to production, consumption, imports, and energy prices. (Remarks by the President on National Energy Policy, 5/16/01; EIA, "Summary Impacts of Modeled Provisions of the 2003 Conference Energy Bill" 2/04)
Cheney's Gas Tax Would Have Cost Consumers $1.2 Trillion. Dick Cheney proposed an import tax on oil imports that would have increased the price of gas by billions of dollars. The New York Times reported, "In October 1986, when Dick Cheney was the lone congressman from energy-rich Wyoming, he introduced legislation to create a new import tax that would have caused the price of oil, and ultimately the price of gasoline paid by drivers, to soar by billions of dollars per year...Under Mr. Cheney's proposal, if it had been enacted when Mr. Cheney introduced it, in the years that followed it would have cost consumers $1.2 trillion." (New York Times, 4/6/04)
Paid for by Kerry-Edwards 2004, Inc.
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BYU Newsnet
August 5, 2004
Court sides with Goshutes on Skull Valley nuclear storage site
By Jessica Bledsoe
A decision by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday, August 4, furthered the Goshute Indian Tribe's plan to store nuclear waste on their Utah reservation as early as 2007.
The court ruled that Utah laws enacted from 1998 to 2001 to prevent the storage facility site - located 30 miles west of Salt Lake City - conflicted with federal law. Private Fuel Storage, a conglomerate of the eight largest nuclear power facilities, challenged the laws that tried to prevent their contract with the Goshute Tribe.
"Right now we are still reviewing the decisions," said Amanda Covington, deputy of communication for the Governor's office. "We'll then counsel with the attorney general's office. The main thing is that we will continue to fight the storage of nuclear fuel in Utah."
Covington said the spent fuel poses numerous concerns for the people of the state, including road and storage issues. The court's 73-page decision denied the constitutionality of laws specifically addressing those issues.
The Goshute Tribe and PFS started fighting battles with the state in 1990, when the plan was first introduced. PFS approached the Goshutes about using their land as a temporary storage site until Yucca Mountain, the government's permanent storage facility, was ready.
Under the terms outlined by Woodrow Wilson's 1914 executive order, the state has no legal jurisdiction over the reservation. But state officials argue that because the spent fuel will be transported on state roads, they can block the proposed site.
Sue Martin, spokesperson for PFS, said the jurisdiction over roads was resolved because the federal government, whose authority supersedes the state, endorses the project.
Martin said Wednesday's legal victory further established the relationship between the state and federal governments.
"This decision affirms the fact that there is a legal process through which the state can participate and have their concern addressed," Martin said. "They cannot participate by passing unconstitutional laws."
Martin said the decision is just one more step toward licensing, a process that has already taken seven years.
"It's good news for us," Martin said. "But it is not the end of the story."
PFS was formed after the federal government failed to move forward on their plan to store the nation's spent nuclear fuel. Because the government is under heat from PFS to find a storage facility, critics argue the licensing process has been undermined.
The state will present additional data and testimony next week in Washington D.C. at hearings of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, a committee of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Laura Vernon, public information officer for the department of Environmental Quality, said the hearings will "litigate aircraft issues," specifically from the nearby training grounds for Hill Air Force Base. The hearings are closed to the public because safety sensitive information will be disclosed.
If the concerns are resolved, the licensing board will recommend the NRC issue a storage license to PFS.
PFS will then push forward with their marketing activities to secure contracts and funding and begin construction on the facility. Martin said construction would take 18 months to two years. The facility could be up and running as early as 2007.
Yucca Mountain's completion date is much further off.
"Nobody that I am aware of believes it could possibly happen by 2010," Martin said of the officially published open date.
But Martin is still confident that Yucca Mountain will be the permanent storage site of their spent fuel stored at the Goshute Reservation.
"We feel confident that the federal government - because it has a legal obligation to take the spent fuel - that they will find a way to do that," Martin said. "Our lease [at the reservation] will only be temporary; our license will only be temporary."
If approved, the Gosuhute contract is for 20 years, with the possibility of a 20-year extension.
The $125 million site would store 40,000 metric tons of nuclear waste - enough capacity to accommodate all of the spent fuel currently stored at power plants throughout the nation.
Around 120 Goshutes currently live on the reservation. Martin said the storage facility would provide badly needed jobs and income for the tribe.
"[The Goshutes] have said all along that, No. 1, they need a long term revenue strain for them to pay for various tribal activities," Martin said.
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KVBC
August 05, 2004
Yucca Mountain Fight
Nevada leaders say regulators are favoring the Energy Department in a dispute over Yucca Mountain documents. The head of the State's efforts to block the national nuclear waste storage site is making the accusation. Bob Loux says Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is pushing employees to side with the DOE. The dispute is over documents the energy department was supposed to make public about the nuclear waste dump. Nevada says the DOE did not meet the June 30th deadline to release the documents. Lawyers for the Energy Department say they did. The DOE needs the approval of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to move forward with Yucca Mountain. Nevada leaders say the NRC should be impartial in deciding the future of the project. Yucca mountain is an issue local groups say should play a role in this November's election. The Sierra Club and local unions will announce today they are teaming up. The groups are launching an effort to educate Nevada voters about the Yucca Mountain plan.
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State of Nevada
Agency for Nuclear Projects
www.state.nv.us/nucwaste/
nwpo@nuc.state.nv.us
775-687-3744
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