555 EAST WASHINGTON AVENllE. SUITE 5100
LASVEGAS.NEVADA 89101
OFFICE: (702) 486-2500
FAX No.: (702) 486-2505

ONE HUNDRED ONE NORTH CARSON STREET

89701
OFFICE: (775) 684-5670
FAx No. (775) 684-5683

CARSON CITY.NEVADA

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June 7, 2019

The Honorable Frank Pallone
Chairman, Committee on Energy and
Commerce
2125 Rayburn House Office Building
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Greg Walden
Ranking Member, Committee on Energy and
Commerce
2322 Rayburn House Office Building
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Pallone and Ranking Member Walden:
As your committee meets next week to discuss the future of high-level nuclear waste storage and
disposal in the United States, I write to reaffirm the consistent position of the State of Nevada on
the proposed Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository.
My position, and that of the State of Nevada, remains identical to the position of Nevada's past
five governors: The State of Nevada opposes the project based on scientific, technical, and legal
merits. I am totally opposed to any legislative effo1i to restmi the Yucca Mountain project. As
you and your members know, under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, only the governor is
empowered to consult with the federal government on matters related to the siting of a nuclear
waste repository.
My staff has thoroughly reviewed H.R. 2699, the proposed Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments
Act of 2019. H.R. 2699 would do nothing to repair the central failing of the current federal law. In
1987, Congress substituted political science for emih science and selected Yucca Mountain in
Nevada as the only site for repository development. H.R. 2699 would not only continue this failed
policy; it would seriously weaken Nevada's cmTent due process rights to challenge documented
safety concerns and adverse environmental impacts in the legally-mandated licensing proceeding.
This proposed legislation will waste billions of additional ratepayer and taxpayer dollars.
Attempting to force an unsafe site on an unwilling state will fail. The proposed legislation only
exacerbates the erosion of trust and confidence caused by the federal government's recent secret
shipments of weapons-grade plutonium into our state.
I said in my State of the State address in Janum·y that not one ounce of nuclear waste will reach
Yucca Mountain while I'm governor. I fully intend to keep my promise to the people of Nevada
and fight against any attempts to restmi the failed Yucca Mountain program. If your committee is

 truly interested in fixing our nation's broken nuclear waste program, my staff and I, and Nevada's
congressional delegation, would be happy to meet with you and explore constructive alternatives.
Respectfully,

CC: Nevada Congressional Delegation
Members of the Committee on Energy and Commerce