(The Las Vegas Sun posted the following Associated Press article on its website on April 1.)
LAS VEGAS — Instead of building a new rail spur, the Energy Department is considering trucking nuclear waste through Nevada to the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump.
A shift in strategy, at least for the first years after the repository opens, was discussed last week by Energy Department managers looking for cost savings in the repository plan, said Allen Benson, a project spokesman in Las Vegas.
He characterized the Thursday meeting involving program director Margaret Chu and others as “brainstorming,” and said no decisions were made.
The government plans to begin accepting nuclear shipments in 2010 at the Yucca Mountain site, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Switching to trucks would let the Energy Department postpone building a rail line in the state and could delay up to $1 billion in costs.
Instead, once within Nevada, the waste casks would be moved from rail cars onto tractor-trailers and driven to the repository in overweight shipping containers. Transfer points have not been identified.
Nevada is fighting the Yucca Mountain project.
Robert Halstead, a nuclear waste transportation consultant for the state, said trucks carrying oversized nuclear waste casks would require costly road upgrades.
“It’s expensive to build a railroad, but heavy haul, depending on where they do it from, can cost almost as much,” Halstead said. “DOE is facing a desperate budget situation, and this is something they’re throwing up to buy themselves some time.”
Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said trucking the waste through the state would increase the risk of crash or sabotage.
“They are increasing the number of trucks on the roads, making them potential targets for terrorists and for more potential accidents,” said Berkley, Yucca Mountain opponent and member of the House Transportation Committee.
She promised to challenge any proposal for more truck shipments.
The Energy Department has delayed announcing its transportation plan, concentrating instead on preparing a license application by 2005.
Department officials say budget cuts by Congress, including a 22 percent reduction this year, have spurred cost reviews and could lead the department to postpone a December 2004 license application target.