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Victory at Ward Valley! The Proposed Nuclear Waste Dump is Defeated! 
Please support Greenaction so we have the resources to continue helping to save Ward Valley and other areas from the nuclear threat! See Also: Ward Valley Campaign Home Page For more information, contact:
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Let's Make Sure It Doesn't Come Back Again! Read the Latest news! The radioactive waste dump proposed for Ward Valley has been defeated. Let's make sure this dangerous plan never gets revived. U.S. Ecology had tried for over a decade to win permits to dump nuclear waste in the ground, above an aquifer with pathways to the Colorado River, on sacred Indian land and on critical habitat for the endangered desert tortoise. In the face of massive public resistance, both the federal government and the State of California have rejected plans to transfer the federal land at Ward Valley to the state for the dump, effectively ending the dump plan. US Ecology recently lost two more rounds in their litigation marathon to secure an order to re-start the defunct proposal for a radioactive waste dump in Ward Valley near the Colorado River, or to recover up to $162 million in lost costs and profits. The dump was bitterly opposed by the five lower Colorado River Indian Tribes and environmental and social justice groups, who held a successful 113-day occupation to block testing at the site. On October 24, San Diego Superior Court Judge S. Charles Wickersham dismissed a lawsuit brought in May by US Ecology seeking to force California to resume efforts to acquire the Ward Valley site from the federal government so that the dump could be built, as well as costs, lost profits and legal expenses. The judge ruled that Governor Davis' choice not to pursue Ward Valley was completely discretionary and lawful. On November 13, the company appealed the decision, which may have its first hearing in January, 2001. On November 14, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit dismissed a case brought on appeal by US Ecology after it failed to convince a lower court to order the Department of the Interior to transfer the land at Ward Valley from the federal government to California. The court ruled that US Ecology lacked standing to bring the case since California is not part of the litigation. Following the two adverse rulings, US Ecology admitted, "There can be no assurance that the company will recover its investment or earn a return on the Ward Valley project, since the outcome of litigation cannot be predicted. Failure to recover deferred site development costs would have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial condition." Greenaction and our allies will continue to monitor the situation and work to make sure there will never be a nuclear waste dump at Ward Valley....so far, so good! |