Don't Dump Nuclear Waste at Yucca Mountain!
January 29, 2002
Dear Member of Congress:
As national, state, Native
American, and local environmental and public interest organizations,
we are writing to draw your attention to a recent report by the Department
of Energy's Inspector General, which exposes apparent conflicts of interest
within the Yucca Mountain Project.
Since 1987, Yucca Mountain
has been the only site under consideration for a proposed high-level
nuclear waste repository. The Secretary of Energy, under pressure from
the nuclear industry, has indicated that he will recommend the site
to the president next month. The president would likely refer a site
recommendation to Congress. In light of new evidence, we urge you to
oppose the Yucca Mountain Project.
Numerous technical, environmental,
and policy problems plague the project, undermining the credibility
of the Secretary of Energy's pending site recommendation. In addition,
the attached report discloses evidence of potential conflict of interest
involving the law firm Winston & Strawn, which was simultaneously
employed as counsel to the DOEís Yucca Mountain Project and registered
as a member of and lobbyist for the Nuclear Energy Institute, the pro-repository
nuclear industry trade group, between 1992 and 2001.
The DOE, as a federal agency,
is expected to be a fair and impartial arbiter in its evaluations of
the repository proposal, and to uphold the same standards of integrity
for its contractors. The Nuclear Energy Institute, on the other hand,
is the lobbying arm of the nuclear industry and specifically advocates
in favor of the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain,
which would serve the narrow commercial interests of its nuclear industry
members.
The involvement of Winston
& Strawn lawyers in both shaping the DOE's Yucca Mountain activities
and advising and lobbying on behalf of the Nuclear Energy Institute
on nuclear waste legislation is a serious conflict of interest, which
has no doubt compromised the integrity of the Yucca Mountain Project.
The recent Inspector General
report notes as well that TRW, Inc., the managing and operations contractor
for the Yucca Mountain Project until February 2001, was also simultaneously
engaged in lobbying activities on nuclear waste storage issues. TRW
was additionally implicated in December 2000 as the author of a memo
attached to a leaked overview of the Yucca Mountain Site Recommendation
Considerations Report (later released as the Preliminary Site Suitability
Evaluation and the Science and Engineering Report). The memo indicated
that the overview was intended to help supporters of the Yucca Mountain
Project express their support for a favorable site recommendation and
that ìthe technical suitability of the site is less of a concern
to Congress than the broader issue of whether the nuclear waste problem
can be solved at an affordable price in both financial and political
terms.î
Clearly, the DOE has failed
to exercise necessary oversight of its contractors, resulting in an
apparent pro-industry bias in the agencyís site characterization
and site recommendation activities. It would be irresponsible for Congress
to allow the Yucca Mountain Project to continue without a thorough review
of the causes and consequences of contractor conflict of interest that
have recently been brought to light. In defense of responsible, accountable
government, as well as public health and safety, we urge your decisive
opposition to the Yucca Mountain Project.
Sincerely,
Kevin Kamps Lisa Gue
Nuclear Waste Specialist Policy Analyst
Nuclear Information and Resource Service Public
Citizenís Critical Mass
Also on behalf of the following
230 organizations:
National Groups
James Wyerman
20/20 Vision
Washington, DC
Susan Gordon
Alliance for Nuclear Accountability
Seattle, WA
Steve Holmer
American Lands Alliance
Washington, DC
Lynn Thorp
Clean Water Action
Washington, DC
Sara Zdeb
Friends of the Earth
Washington, DC
Tom Carpenter
Government Accountability Project
Seattle, WA
Lorraine Krofchok
Grandmothers for Peace International
Elk Grove,CA
Jim Riccio
Greenpeace
Washington, DC
Richard LaFortune
Honor the Earth
Minneapolis, MN
Tom Goldtooth
Indigenous Environmental Network
Bemidji, MN
Kevin Curtis
National Environmental Trust
Washington,DC
Geoffrey Fettus
Natural Resources Defense Council
Washington, DC
Kevin Martin
Peace Action Education Fund
Washington, DC
Robert Musil, PhD, MPH
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Washington, DC
Ellen Thomas
Proposition One Committee
Washington, DC
Christopher Sherry and Scott
Denman
Safe Energy Communication Council
Washington, DC
Daniel Becker
Sierra Club
Washington, DC
Anna Aurilio
U.S. Public Interest Research Group
Washington, DC
Susan Shaer
Women's Action for New Directions
Arlington, MA
Nan Grogan Orrock
Women's Legislative Lobby
Atlanta, GA
Regional, State, and Local Groups
Randy Virgin
Alaska Center for the Environment
Anchorage, AK
Jayme Hill
Alabama Environmental Council
Birmingham, AL
Jean Gordon
Arkansas WAND
Little Rock, AR
Frank Subjeck
Air, Water, Earth Organization
Lake Havasu City, AZ
Betty Schroeder
Arizona Safe Energy Coalition
Tucson, AZ
Mary Mackenzie
AZ4NORML
Tucson, AZ
Heather Linhardt
Black Mesa Indigenous Support
Flagstaff, AZ
Pat Birnie
Environmental Justice Action Group
Tucson, AZ
Felice and Jack Cohen-Joppa
The Nuclear Resister
Tucson, AZ
Alma Berkowitz
Tucson Branch, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
Tucson, AZ
Roger Herried
Abalone Alliance
San Francisco, CA
Sara Nichols
Americans for a Safe Future
Sherman Oaks, CA
Philip Klasky
Bay Area Nuclear Waste Coalition
San Francisco, CA
Jane Welford and Hilda Roberts
Berkeley Women in Black
Berkeley, CA
Barbara Vlamis
Butte Environmental Council
Chico, CA
Arlene Weissman
Calaveras County Green Party
Calaveras County, CA
Susan Tansky
California Alliance in Defense of Residential Environments
Sherman Oaks, CA
Ernest Goitein
Californians for Radioactive Safeguards
Atherton, CA
Francis Macy and Enid Schreibman
Center for Safe Energy
Berkeley, CA
Patricia Noble
Conference of Social Justice Coordinators
Los Angeles, CA
Mha Atma S. Khalsa
Earth Action Network
Los Angeles, CA
Joe Mirabile
EcoBridge
San Francisco, CA
Muriel Marvin
El Dorado County Green Party
Placerville, CA
Bernice Kring
Grandmothers for Peace, Sacramento Chapter
Sacramento, CA
Molly Johnson
Grandmothers for Peace/San Luis Obispo County Chapter
San Miguel, CA
Bradley Angel
Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice
San Francisco, CA
Jennifer Viereck
HOME - Healing Ourselves and Mother Earth
Tecopa, CA
Philip Tymon
Occidental Arts and Ecology Center
Occidental, CA
Ruth Lopez
People Against Radioactive Dumping
Needles, CA
Jonathan Parfrey
Physicians for Social Responsibility - Santa Monica
Santa Monica, CA
Michael Welch
Redwood Alliance
Arcata, CA
Peggy Lewis
Sacramento Green Party
Sacramento, CA
Klaus Schumann
San Luis Obispo GREEN Party
San Luis Obispo, CA
Rochelle Becker
San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace
San Luis Obispo, CA
Robert Gould, MD
SF-Bay Area Physicians for Social Responsibility
San Francisco, CA
Marylia Kelley
Tri-Valley CAREs
Livermore, CA
Barabara George
Women's Energy Matters
Berkeley, CA
Bill Sulzman
Citizens for Peace in Space
Colorado Springs, CO
Carmi McClean
Colorado Clean Water Action
Denver, CO
Mag and Ken Seaman
Colorado Coalition for the Prevention of Nuclear War
Denver, CO
Paula Palmer
Global Response
Boulder, CO
Bob Kinsey
Peace and Justice Task Force, United Church of Christ
Denver, CO
Tom Marshall
Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center
Boulder, CO
Peg Ryglisyn and Michael
Albrizio
Connecticut Opposed to Waste
Broad Brook, CT
Mitzi Bowman
Don't Waste Connecticut
New Haven, CT
Judi Friedman
Peoples Action for Clean Energy (PACE)
Canton, CT
Penny Teal
Stonington Chapter of the Connecticut Green Party
Stonington, CT
Kathy Boylon
Dorothy Day Catholic Worker
Washington, DC
Philip Radford
Power Shift
Washington, DC
Donald and Juanita Mendoza
Keesing
Voices Opposed to Environmental Racism
Washington, DC
Alan Muller
Green Delaware
Port Penn, DE
J. Roy Cannon
Green Party of Delaware
Newark, DE
Carol Mosley
Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice
Gainesville, FL
Adele Kushner
Action for a Clean Environment
Alto, GA
Glenn Carroll
Georgians Against Nuclear Energy
Atlanta, GA
Tom Ferguson
Physicians for Social Responsibility ñ Atlanta
Atlanta , GA
Henry Curtis
Life of the Land
Honolulu, HI
Merle Prater, PhD
Integrative Educational Systems
Ames, IA
Johanna Hudson
EarthCare
Des Moines, IA
Lisa Davis Cook
Iowa Citizen Action Network
Des Moines, IA
Rich Dana
Iowa Renewable Energy Association
Muscatine, IA
Michelle Kenyon
Iowa Sustainable Energy for Economic Development Coalition
Iowa City, IA
Chuck Broscious
Environmental Defense Institute
Troy, ID
Gary Richardson
Snake River Alliance
Idaho Falls, ID
Liane Casten
Chicago Media Watch
Chicago, IL
Bernice Bild
Committee for New Priorities
Chicago, IL
Laura Huth
Illinois Student Environmental Network
Urbana, IL
Susan Zingle
Lake County Conservation Alliance
Grayslake, IL
Steve Hill
Lake County Green Party
Mundelein, IL
Dave Kraft
Nuclear Energy Information Service
Evanston, IL
Kristi Hanson
Regional Association of Concerned Environmentalists
Brookport, IL
Elizabeth Fraser
Rogers Park Greens
Chicago, IL
Stephanie Mertens
USASC Justice and Peace Office
Red Bud, IL
Chris Williams
Citizen Action Coalition of Indiana
Indianapolis, IN
Mark Donham
Heartwood
Bloomington, IN
Diana Mendelsohn
Michiana Earth Day
South Bend, IN
John Blair
Valley Watch
Evansville, IN
June Allen
Enviro-Health Concerns
Witchita, KS
Al Fritch
Appalachia Science in the Public Interest
Mt. Vernon, KY
Craig Williams
Chemical Weapons Working Group
Berea, KY
Corinne Whitehead
Coalition for Health Concern
Benton, KY
Dr. Richard Futrell
Common Ground
Berea, KY
Peter Hille
Kentucky Environmental Foundation
Berea, KY
Elizabeth Crowe
Non-Stockpile Chemical Weapons Citizen Coalition
Berea, KY
Mary Byrd Davis
Yggdrasil Institute
Georgetown, KY
Gary Groesch
Alliance for Affordable Energy
New Orleans, LA
Deb Katz
Citizen Awareness Network
Shelburne Falls, MA
Mary Lampert
Massachusetts Citizens for Safe Energy
Boston, MA
Richard Ochs
Maryland Safe Energy Coalition
Baltimore, MD
Jay Levy
Nuclear Free Takoma Park Committee
Takoma Park, MD
Bill Linnell
Cheaper, Safer Power
Portland, ME
Elizabeth King and Sean Donovan
Woolwich Greens
Woolwich, ME
Michael Keegan
Coalition for a Nuclear Free Great Lakes
Monroe, MI
Keith Gunter
Citizens' Resistance at Fermi Two
Monroe, MI
Alice Hirt
Don't Waste Michigan
Holland, MI
Douglas R. Cornett.
Northwoods Wilderness Recovery
Marquette, MI
Keith Gunter
Nuclear Free Great Lakes Campaign
Clinton Township, MI
Gary Karch
Positives for Peace and Environmental Justice
Niles, MI
Henry W. Peters
Radiological Evaluation & Action Project, Great Lakes
Ewen, MI
Tom Leonard
West Michigan Environmental Action Council
Grand Rapids, MI
Diana McKeown
Clean Water Action Alliance of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN
Scott Mathern-Jacobson
Duluth-Superior FOR
Duluth, MN
John Bailey
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Minneapolis, MN
Gladys Schmitz, SSND
Mankato Area Environmentalists
Mankato, MN
George Crocker
North America Water Office
Lake Elmo, MN
Bruce A. Drew
Prairie Island Coalition
Minneapolis, MN
Ben Kjelshus
Kansas City Greens
Kansas City, MO
Mark Haim
Mid-Missouri Peaceworks
Columbia, MO
Ted Heisel
Missouri Coalition for the Environment
St. Louis, MO
Bob Kochtitzky
Mississippi 2020 Network, Inc.
Jackson, MS
Flo Chessin
Missoula Women for Peace
Missoula, MT
Candice Carr
Active Students for a Healthy Envronment
Asheville, NC
Denise Lee
Anson County Citizens Against Chemical Toxins in Underground Storage
Clemmons, NC
Janet M. Zeller
Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
Glendale Springs, NC
John Runkle
Conservation Council of North Carolina
Raleigh, NC
Ellen Pietroski
North Carolina Waste Awareness and Reduction Network
Durham, NC
E.M.T. O'Nan
Protect All Children's Environment
Marion, NC
Nick Schuster
North Dakota Clean Water Action
Fargo, ND
Carol McShane
Nebraskans for Peace
Lincoln, NE
Steve Larrick
South Salt Creek Community Organization
Lincoln, NE
Jen Hicks
Seacoast Anti-Pollution League
Portsmouth, NH
Norman Cohen
Coalition for Peace and Justice
Linwood, NJ
Syndey Goodman
SJG Design, Inc.
Paramus, NJ
Norman Cohen
UNPLUG Salem
Linwood, NJ
Dorie Bunting
Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice
Albuquerque, NM
Susan Dayton
Citizen Action of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM
Janet Greenwald
Citizens for Alternatives to Radioactive Dumping
Albuquerque, NM
Joni Arends
Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety
Santa Fe, NM
Greg Mello
Los Alamos Study Group
Santa Fe, NM
Geoffrey Petrie
Nuclear Watch of New Mexico
Santa Fe, NM
Peggy Prince
Peace Action New Mexico
Santa Fe, NM
Don Hancock
Southwest Research and Information Center
Albuquerque, NM
Gilbert Sanchez
Tribal Environmental Watch Alliance
Espanola, NM
Tom Stoneburner
The Alliance for Worker's Rights
Reno, NV
Kalynda Tilges
Citizen Alert
Las Vegas, NV
Tom Myers
Great Basin Mine Watch
Reno, NV
Sally Light
Nevada Desert Experience
Las Vegas, NV
Charles Laws
Nevada Green Party
Reno, NV
Judy Treichel
Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force
Las Vegas, NV
John Wallin
Nevada Wilderness Project
Reno, NV
Patricia Ballard
Nuclear Risk Management For Native Communities
Duckwater, NV
Bob Fulkerson
Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada
Carson City, NV
Christopher Sewall
Western Shoshone Defense Project
Crescent Valley, NV
Lori White
The Yucca Mountain Raggers
Las Vegas, NV
Barbara Hickernell
Alliance to Close Indian Point
Ossining, NY
Elizabeth Shanklin
Bronx Greens
Bronx, NY
Susan Griffin
Chenango North Energy Awareness Group
South Plymouth, NY
Carol Mongerson
Coalition on West Valley Nuclear Wastes
Concord, NY
Alice Slater
Global Resource Action Center for the Environment
New York, NY
Roger Snyder
Long Island SHAD
Huntington, NY
Maryna Harrison
New York City WAND
New York, NY
Bill Smirnow
Nuclear Free New York
Huntington, NY
Day Starr
New York State Greens/Green Party
Flushing, NY
Kathleen Whitley
Sustainable Energy Alliance of Long Island
Bridgehampton, NY
Bob Alvarez
The STAR Foundation
East Hampton, NY
Martin Kellerman
UFT/PS 108 Chapter
Brooklyn, NY
Harvey Wasserman
Citizens Protecting Ohio
Bexley, OH
Francis Chiapski
Cleveland Peace Action
Cleveland, OH
Terry Lodge
Coalition for a Safe Environment
Toledo, OH
Chris Trepal
Earth Day Coalition
Cleveland, OH
Stuart Greenburg
Environmental Health Watch
Cleveland, OH
Bruce Cornett
Green Environmental Coalition
Yellow Springs, OH
Chris Lutjen
Green Party of Cuyahoga County
Cleveland, OH
Shari Weir
Ohio Citizen Action
Cleveland, OH
David Ellison
Ohio Greens Anti-Nuclear Organizing Committee
Cleveland, OH
Terry Lodge
Toledo Coalition for Safe Energy
Toledo, OH
B.J. Medley
Earth Concerns of Oklahoma
Tulsa, OK
Paige Knight
Hanford Watch
Portland, OR
Nina Bell
Northwest Environmental Advocates
Portland, OR
Michael Carrigan
Oregon Peaceworks
Salem, OR
George Hutchinson
Southern Oregon Forest Coalition
Medford, OR
Rachel Martin
Allegheny Green Party
Strattonville, PA
Leon Glicenstein, Ph.D
Central Pennsylvania Citizens for Survival
State College, PA
David Hughes
Citizen Power
Pittsburgh, PA
Joseph Ottis Minott, Esq.
Clean Air Council
Philadelphia, PA
Bill Belitskus
Communities for Sustainable Forestry
Kane, PA
Ernest Fuller
Concerned Citizens for SNEC Safety
Six Mile Run, PA
Judith Johnsrud, PhD
Environmental Coalition on Nuclear Power
State College, PA
Joseph Martin
McKean County Citizens Against Nuclear Waste
Bradford, PA
Katharine Dodge
Northeast Pennsylvania Audubon Society
Honesdale, PA
Michael Morrill
Pennsylvania Citizen Action Network
Reading, PA
Brian Laverty
Pennsylvania Environmental Network
Blossburg, PA
Anita Housler
PROACT
Kane, PA
Eric Epstein
Three Mile Island Alert
Harrisburg, PA
Linda M. Pease
Appalachian Mountain Club
Providence, RI
Sheila Dormody
Clean Water Action
Providence, RI
Harry Rogers
Carolina Peace Resource Center
Columbia, SC
Lilias Jarding, Ph.D.
Bison Land Resource Center
Flandreau, SD
Paloma Galindo
Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance
Oak Ridge, TN
Becky Bornhorst
Downwinders at Risk
Duncanville, TX
Jude Filler
Texas Alliance for Human Needs
Austin, TX
Anne Sward Hansen
Citizens Against Radioactive Waste in Utah
Salt Lake City, UT
Victoria Woodard
Escalante Wilderness Project
Escalante, UT
Jason Groenewold
Families Against Incinerator Risk
Salt Lake City, UT
Owen Lammers
Living Rivers
Moab, UT
Susi Snyder
Shundahai Network
Salt Lake City, UT
Jessica Hiemenz
Taking Responsibility for the Earth and the Environment
Blacksburg, VA
David Pyles
New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution
Brattleboro, VT
Kimberly Ead
Peace and Justice Center
Burlington, VT
Alexis Lathem
Rural Vermont
Montpelier, VT
Peter Sterling
Vermont Public Interest Research Group
Montpelier, VT
Gerald Pollet
Heart of America Northwest
Seattle, WA
Norm Buske
The Radioactivist Campaign
Belfair, WA
John LaForge
Nukewatch
Luck, WI
Dianne Bady
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition
Huntington, WV
Norman Steemstra
West Virginia Citizen Action Group
Charleston, WV
Vicky Goodwin
Powder River Basin Resource Council
Douglas, WY
Dan Heilig
Wyoming Outdoor Council
Laramie, WY
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