WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, at a hearing of the Government Reform Committee’s Subcommittee on Federal Workforce and Agency Oversight, Joseph Hevesi, a key figure in the Yucca Mountain investigation, responded to questions posed by Subcommittee Chairman Jon Porter (R-NV) and other Subcommittee members regarding the safety of the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.  Mr. Hevesi, a United States Geological Survey (USGS) scientist, appeared before the Subcommittee under subpoena.

“I’m pleased that Mr. Hevesi chose to answer the Subcommittee’s questions rather than invoke his Fifth Amendment rights, and I appreciate his willingness to continue the dialog so that we can better understand the circumstances under which he was operating,” said Porter.  “However, the vagueness of many of his answers and his own assertion that the level of scrutiny surrounding the Yucca Mountain Project and his e-mails is ‘one hundred percent warranted’ confirms my belief that there is much more to learn with regards to whether or not the science behind the project is sound.  The fact that Mr. Hevesi denied falsifying any data does not close the door on the investigation.  As I’ve stated before, we will get to the bottom of this mess.”

At the core of the investigation are e-mails sent by Hevesi to other USGS scientists while they were testing the viability of Yucca Mountain as a storage facility for 77,000 tons of nuclear waste.  A number of the e-mails suggest that data used in the testing may have been falsified, which would put the safety of the entire project into question.  After repeated attempts by Subcommittee investigators to speak with Hevesi about the e-mails were ignored, Chairman Porter was left with no choice but to subpoena Hevesi to appear at today’s hearing.

In addition to Hevesi’s lack of cooperation in the months leading up to his testimony today, officials at the Department of Energy (DOE) have not complied with numerous Subcommittee requests for documents, nor have they assisted in arranging interviews with DOE employees who may be able to contribute to the investigation.  W. John Arthur, III, a DOE official with intimate knowledge of the Yucca Mountain project, testified at today’s hearing that DOE is currently in the process of re-evaluating the data that has come under question, but could not answer a number of the questions posed to him by the Subcommittee.

“Mr. Arthur’s reluctance or inability to provide the Subcommittee with solid answers to our questions simply won’t do, nor will the arrogance exhibited by his agency when refusing to comply with Subcommittee requests for key documents and access to individuals with knowledge of the Yucca Mountain project.  Is DOE unable to provide information due to poor management, or, are they hiding something?” Porter concluded.

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