October 6, 2005

Reid, Ensign - Statement on Yucca IG Report

STATEMENT OF SENATORS HARRY REID AND JOHN ENSIGN

On the Newest Example of Mismanagement on the Yucca Mountain Project

Washington D.C. -- Senators Harry Reid (D-NV) and John Ensign (R-NV) said they were angry, but not surprised, by a new report showing mismanagement on the Yucca Mountain Project.

The Inspector General’s report found that the Department of Energy (DOE) repeatedly gave bonuses to Bechtel Corporation in spite of poor work performance. The report says DOE’s Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management paid Bechtel $4 million in “incentive-based fees” even though “Bechtel did not meet contract specifications.”

“Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. It’s just one more in a long string of examples of incompetence and sloppiness at Yucca Mountain,” said Reid. “We’ve seen the DOE cut corners on vital scientific experiments, compromise safety, punish whistleblowers, and spend far beyond their budget. This is not sound science and it’s not sound business, but it is more proof that the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear dump needs to be stopped.”

“This demonstrates once again that the DOE is forging ahead with Yucca Mountain despite unanswered safety concerns and huge cost overruns,” Ensign said. “The government should never be in the business of paying top dollar for shoddy work, and Americans should be outraged by this continued arrogance and waste of their money.”

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