“I adamantly oppose any legislation or concept that would create, or further develop, the Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada,” Gibbons began in his statement.  “Since I was elected to Congress, I have consistently voted against the annual Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act which annually funds the studies, development and construction of Yucca Mountain.  I plan to contact President Clinton and encourage him to further his commitment in protecting the citizens of Nevada by vetoing this year’s Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act.”

“This repository is a travesty to Nevada’s residents and will destroy its economic and environmental future,” continued Gibbons, a leading opponent of the nuclear waste lobbyists in Washington.  “The only issue left is science -- and doesn’t it make sense that factual standards, based upon sound science and reason, along with the protection and welfare of this nation’s citizens, should be drawn upon when we address nuclear waste storage?”

Gibbons also pointed to Department of Energy Secretary Bill Richardson’s apparent haste in moving forward with the Yucca project: “Secretary Richardson himself [once] stated that the Yucca Mountain site, ‘will be based on science, pure science, not politics,’” said Gibbons.  “Then, [Richardson] stated in February that, ‘I’ve got a lot of good science.  I’ll have sufficient information.’”

“It now appears that Secretary Richardson, in his haste to complete Yucca Mountain, will not even wait for his own study to be completed before he makes his recommendation,” commented Gibbons.  “I would ask this Committee to talk to Secretary Richardson and ask him to take this vital information into account — if we are truly and factually basing Yucca Mountain on sound science.”