LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nevada's long nuclear nightmare may finally be over.
That's according to U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, who, with fellow Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, both D-Nev., have introduced a bill to reverse the infamous "Screw Nevada" bill of 1987.
WATCH | Senior political reporter Steve Sebelius sat down with Rosen to discuss the bill:
That legislation narrowed a national search for a geologic repository for nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain, Nevada, about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Nevada's political leaders have been fighting the dump ever since, including by defunding work on the project during the administration of President Barack Obama.
Although President Donald Trump expressed interest in restarting work at Yucca Mountain, his administration has abandoned that idea in favor of an approach that lets states compete for centers to refine, study and store nuclear material.
For Rosen, the time to rid Nevada of the nuclear threat is now.
"It's critically important to repeal that federal law that makes Yucca Mountain the only place to have nuclear waste. There are places that want to bid for it," Rosen said in an interview with Channel 13. "Folks want it, then we should allow them to go through that process, and this will make Yucca Mountain dead forever in that space."
But the law won't just remove the only-place-in-the-nation-for-nuclear-waste designation. Rosen said it requires a study to see what else the dump site could be used for, including secure data storage for classified military information.
"Maybe we use it in some other way. We have so many other military assets here. Let's do a study. Let's see if we can bring jobs to Nevada and repurpose Yucca Mountain for something good," she said.
But Rosen said as long as the 1987 law is still on the books, things could go wrong.
"If our bill is passed, it repeals the federal law, because as long as you have that in statute, it's going to prevent the new nuclear innovation sites," Rosen said. "We want to be sure that we have a new, robust way to create perhaps these hubs that they research how you reduce nuclear waste, the best way to store it, whatever those things are. Those hubs will make those decisions, and our bill is the first step for them to get there."
Rosen even credited the Trump administration for adopting a consent-based approach that Nevada officials have been calling for during the years-long fight against Yucca Mountain.
"Yeah, of course, I'm glad to have them realizing that Yucca Mountain is not suitable for nuclear waste," she said. "I think it's the responsible thing to do and we just want to move forward with that."
Rosen said she and Cortez Masto would push their bill once the August recess ends and may attach it to a must-pass measure like the defense spending bill.
