Letters to the Editor July 20

Check the facts on Reagan presidency

Sen. Dean Heller has stated that we need another man in the oval office like Ronald Reagan. Sen. Heller seems to have forgotten that Ronald Reagan, during his presidency, had the distinction of contributing the largest percentage to our national debt.

In addition, Sen. Heller forgot about the 11 tax increases that happened during Reagan's eight years in the oval office.

Although President Reagan was very charismatic and popular, he left office with a lower approval rating than Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford.

In closing, before printing rebuttal letters to the above facts, please verify with a reliable source.

Jeanne Larson

Wellington

Nuclear repository can work safely

Ty Cobb's "Yucca: The closer you are, the better you like it" made good points. In his comparison of the U.S. and Sweden and Finland, he didn't point out the absence of states in those two countries, counties are their local jurisdictions. Had Nye County been negotiating with the federal government, we would be disposing of spent fuel today.

Ty also compares it with New Mexico focusing on the local support for its repository. Recently the Blue Ribbon Commission was treated to the governor and other state, county and local leaders all suggesting the federal government come and discuss an expanded mission for the repository run by Department of Energy near Carlsbad, and siting a regional spent fuel dry-storage facility nearby.

Ty does not mention that the letter from the Nevada Governor's Agency for Nuclear Projects recently threatened that an attempt to bring Greater-than-Class-C waste to Nevada would result in all of the ammunition piled up against Yucca being brought to bear on this rather benign higher-end of the low-level waste spectrum.

By contrast the New Mexico Department of the Environment letter on the same subject in essence said, OK, let's discuss this.

New Mexico has a repository safely operated by DOE for 12 years. Nationwide transportation has been nuclear-accident free 11 million miles. If I were a federal decision-maker, I would take my new nuclear projects where I know I am welcome, and plan my next large project with New Mexico.

Abe Van Luik

Las Vegas

Yucca is not comparable to New Mexico repository

Tyrus Cobb's continued advocacy for Yucca Mountain is perplexing. The fact that communities near noxious facilities tend to be supportive is a common phenomena. Things like waste dumps, nuclear plants, etc. tend to be located in economically disadvantaged areas desperate for any type of industrial activity. This is not a legitimate argument for agreeing to something that is destructive to the interests of the state as a whole.

The claim that billions are there for the asking is appealing, but wrong. There is no money available. For every federal dollar that would have to be appropriated for a hypothetical benefits deal, Congress would have to increase the deficit by an equal amount or cut funds correspondingly elsewhere. It just ain't gonna happen, folks.

Even if there were money, Yucca Mountain is an unsafe and unsuitable site, and Southern Nevada is a terrible location for any type of nuclear facility. There is simply no basis for negotiation.

Yucca cannot be compared to the transuranic repository in New Mexico. That facility worked because the site chosen was technically and scientifically suitable, something Yucca is not.

Finally, the Agency for Nuclear Projects doesn't make policy for the state. It implements policies enacted by the Legislature and carried out by every Nevada governor for 25-plus years. There is even a state law on the books making it illegal to store high-level radioactive waste in the state. If Mr. Cobb and others disagree with that policy, they should get the Legislature to change it.

Joseph C. Strolin, Acting Executive Director

Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects

Office of the Governor