Kerry, Edwards against Yucca repository
By CHRISTINA ALMEIDA
The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS - Democrats took a strong position Saturday against a planned Southern Nevada nuclear waste repository, approving a plank in the national platform that says the Yucca Mountain project is unsafe.
During a meeting in Hollywood, Fla., the party's platform committee approved the plank proposed by member Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev.
"It sends a very strong message that the Democratic Party is solidly behind the state of Nevada in its fight against Yucca Mountain," Berkley said in a telephone interview. "It draws a line in the sand and a distinction between the two parties' positions when it comes to the safety of Nevada families."
The platform, which will be presented to delegates later this month at the national convention in Boston, includes party principles on social and economic issues and closely resembles Sen. John Kerry's campaign agenda.
Kerry, the presumptive presidential nominee, voted against the federal government's plan in 2002 and has said, "Yucca Mountain will not be a repository" if he wins in November.
"It will take a Democratic president to stop this process dead in its tracks, and John Kerry has already promised to do that," Berkley said.
Yucca Mountain has become a key election-year issue in Nevada, with Democrats pushing Kerry's longtime opposition and citing President Bush's approval of the plan.
Republicans have been somewhat divided. During their state convention, several rural county delegates called for a plank urging negotiations for federal dollars and other benefits in exchange for accepting the dump - an unpopular idea among the state's top Republican leaders.
The Democratic position was somewhat clouded with Kerry's selection of Sen. John Edwards as his running mate. Edwards had voted for the Yucca Mountain project in 2002.
But Edwards has assured state party leaders that he backs Kerry's opposition to the plan - something Republicans say is indicative of the political complexities of the issue.
"The Democrats hardly agree on this issue as evidenced by the last vote when 15 senators and 102 members of Congress voted for this project, including Senator Edwards," said Yier Shi, spokesman for the Republican National Committee. "The president has always said that the decision on Yucca Mountain would be based on sound science, and we have invested 20 years researching this topic."
The plank reads: "We will protect Nevada and its communities from the high-level nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain which has not been proven to be safe by sound science."
In announcing the plank, Berkley cited last week's appellate court decision saying radiation standards for the site were inadequate and would have to be strengthened. But the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia was not a complete victory for Nevada. The court upheld the government's decision to single out the state as the designated site.
Officials with the Energy Department expressed confidence the radiation issue would be resolved and the plan would move forward.
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