BAUCUS BLASTS NUCLEAR WASTE PROVISION IN SPENDING BILL

Senator Says Provision Would Open Door To Nuclear Waste Dumps In States

June 29, 2006

(Washington, D.C.) – Montana Senator Max Baucus came out swinging against a provision passed today by the Senate Appropriations Committee that could create nuclear waste dumps on federal public lands.

The provision, included in the fiscal year 2006 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, would allow the Secretary of Energy to create “regional nuclear repositories” in any state except Nevada and Utah, even over objections from local officials and state governors.

“We’re not going to stand by and let Washington tell us it’s okay to dump nuclear waste in Montana,” Baucus said. “This provision would open the door and Montana would be on the table because we have so much federal land. I hope Sen. Burns joins me in fighting this.”

The Associated Press recently reported that there are more than 50,000 tons of radioactive nuclear waste housed at nuclear power plants in 31 states. Officials are waiting for a new central holding facility for the nation’s nuclear waste to be built at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, a project that isn’t expected to be online for at least another ten years.

Montana doesn’t have any nuclear power plants, so the state currently doesn’t have to deal with nuclear waste. All that could change under the provision, sponsored by Sen. Pete Domenici, (R-N.M.), as the Secretary of Energy could override the objections of the local governor in building a regional repository on federal land. Baucus said Montana has more than 30 million acres of federal land.

“They are looking for a place to dump all this waste,” Baucus said. “I’m here to say it’s NOT going to be in Montana.”

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer joined Baucus in objecting to the proposal.

“I’m glad Max is fighting this because we don’t want nuclear waste in Montana,” Schweitzer said. "Montana doesn't have uranium or nuclear power. We can make clean energy from coal, wind and crops, why should we support the nuclear industry? Montana is not a dumping ground."

Following today’s vote by the Appropriations Committee, the energy and water spending bill is set to be considered by the full Senate. Baucus said he will work to get the provision removed from the bill because it could serve as a “poison pill” to important water projects he helped secure in the underlying bill.

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