WASHINGTON – Led by U.S. Senator Harry Reid, the Nevada congressional delegation announced today that the Department Of Energy (DOE) Inspector General has agreed to Reid's request to undertake a comprehensive investigation of a recently uncovered internal DOE memo suggesting bias within the Energy Department in favor of locating a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain.

"The recent discovery of a DOE memo suggests that the department and its contractors are biased in favor of the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. It is my hope that this investigation will help us get to the bottom of this matter once and for all," Reid said.

Senator Reid made the announcement at a Capitol Hill press conference where he was joined by representatives from Public Citizen and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS).

"We are here today in a bipartisan effort to demonstrate that we will watch every single step of this process and ensure that science, not politics, is the deciding factor in siting a high-level nuclear waste repository," Reid said.

"We stand united as Nevadans continuing our fight for a fair scientific approach," Senator-elect Ensign said. "We will hold the DOE accountable for prejudging the safety of this site recommendation and encourage them to look at alternatives, such as transmutation, to solve our nation's nuclear waste problem."

U.S. Congressman Jim Gibbons (R-Nev.) stated "it is time that the public know exactly what is going on at the Department of Energy. The apparent bias on behalf of the DOE and its contractors with regard to approving Yucca Mountain as a high-level nuclear waste storage site, before a suitability study is completed, shows gross negligence and can not be tolerated. The people of Nevada and of this country deserve to know that the development of any nuclear waste storage site is based on sound science and not on political expediency."

Congresswoman Berkley said, "Using this report like some kind of slick sales brochure is patently wrong. We've battled the DOE bias for years now, and this is just the latest example of institutional prejudice. It's heartening to know that Secretary Richardson has taken Nevada's concerns very seriously, and has taken the appropriate step of referring the report to his Inspector General. This is not, however, a cause for celebration. Secretary Richardson's actions will -- we hope -- correct a grossly inappropriate attempt to lobby the Congress. In the end, however, it cannot weed out the deep seated bias of the Department, or the sense of political predetermination."

Today's announcement comes six days after Energy Secretary Bill Richardson backed Reid's December 8th request for the Inspector General investigation. In that request, Reid asked DOE Inspector General Gregory Friedman to conduct an investigation into the Yucca Mountain memo to determine its author, and whether or not it was legal for the note to be prepared and circulated along with draft report on the proposed nuclear dump site.