November 18, 1998
Mr. Bill Richardson
Secretary of Energy
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, D.C. 20585
Dear Secretary Richardson:
The undersigned organizations, on behalf of our combined memberships, request that you immediately disqualify the Yucca Mountain, Nevada site and declare it unsuitable for further consideration as a high-level nuclear waste repository. Recent scientific studies have brought forward convincing information that triggers disqualification as defined in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA), as amended. The NWPA provides for the disqualification of the site from further consideration pursuant to the General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repository (10 CFR Part 960).
The NWPA (Section 113 (c) (3)) states that if the Secretary at any time determines that the Yucca Mountain site is unsuitable for development as a repository, the Secretary shall terminate all site characterization activities (emphasis added). The basis for suitability is defined in the Site Suitability Guidelines. The Guidelines (Section 960.3-1-5) state that a site is disqualified at any time during the siting process if the evidence shows that any disqualifying condition exists. These disqualifying conditions are described in detail in the Guidelines.
The Department of Energy has within its possession, evidence and data that support the immediate disqualification of Yucca Mountain. In fact, the enclosed petition concretely establishes two disqualifying conditions and three other unresolved concerns. However, the NWPA dictates that even if only one disqualifying condition exists, the site must be disqualified. It is time that DOE comply with the NWPA. The evidence and data are:
- Using chlorine-36 as a tracer, residues from rainwater less than 50 years old have been detected at the level of the proposed repository. This significant discovery contradicts earlier models of rainwater flow (travel time to the water table). This coupled with the groundwater flow model indicates that the site likely meets the conditions for disqualification under the Hydrology Guideline, 960.4-2-1 (See Appendix III, Application of the Guidelines). This guideline states that a groundwater travel time to the accessible environment of less than 1000 years shall be grounds for disqualification.
- The proposed Yucca Mountain repository will likely result in significant amounts of radionuclides degrading the quality of off-site supplies of groundwater that are presently suitable for and used for human consumption and crop irrigation. This significant discovery contradicts earlier rainwater infiltration models and the site likely meets the conditions for disqualification under the Hydrology Guideline, 960.5-2-6. This concern violates Guideline: 960.5-2-6 Preclosure Disqualifying Condition for Socioeconomic Impacts.
- Additional concerns including seismic activity, volcanic activity and human intrusion negate any suggestion that Yucca Mountain will ever prove to be an appropriate site for nuclear waste disposal.
For these reasons listed above, we are confident that our request to disqualify Yucca Mountain is appropriate and necessary. Therefore, we demand, consistent with the NWPA, that the DOE cease all site characterization activities and restore the site. Furthermore, it would be irresponsible for you to expend any more of the Nuclear Waste Fund (NWF) that comes from a limited source, the electricity ratepayers who pay for nuclear power. DOE should hold the NWF fees in escrow until an environmentally acceptable waste isolation approach is initiated.
In a related matter, we further demand that the Department halt all revisions of regulations for the high-level nuclear waste program that are designed to ensure the recommendation for and licensing of a repository at the Yucca Mountain site, regardless of its deficiencies. These revisions are designed to water down the standard by which DOE judges Yucca Mountain. The scientific approach and indeed, existing law, dictates that DOE disqualify the site, not remove the regulations. The worst examples are the proposed revisions to the Guidelines and objections to any EPA groundwater standard. The NWPA envisioned a set of rules designed to protect humans by ensuring scientific credibility. The DOE, in its efforts to ensure the unsatisfactory Yucca Mountain, has laid aside this critical goal. The false crisis of storage space, so often invoked by the nuclear industry, does not require that DOE put aside science in favor of politics. A dogged belief by career DOE officials, the nuclear industry, and their Congressional allies, that Yucca Mountain must be found suitable has effectively destroyed the credibility of the investigation. Nuclear waste isolation is the goal of the nuclear waste repository program. No compromise is acceptable.
We would be pleased to work with you in an effort to responsibly minimize the environmental consequences of high-level nuclear waste. It is clear that phasing out production of nuclear waste would improve the likelihood of the goal, nuclear waste isolation. Therefore, this should be our path to progress, both technically and politically, on this difficult issue.
We await your action.
Respectfully Submitted,
Mary Olson Auke Piersma
Nuclear Information and Resource Service Public Citizen
Acting Also on Behalf of the Signatory 219 Environmental and Consumer Organizations on the Following Pages
cc: Council on Environmental Quality, Linda Lance
Environmental Protection Agency, Carol Browner
Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, Lake Barrett
Office of Management and Budget, Elgie Holstein
United States House of Representatives
United States Senate
National Organizations
Susan Gordon, Alliance for Nuclear Accountability, Seattle, Washington
Daryl Fagin, Americans for Democratic Action, Washington, DC
Francis Macy, Center for Safe Energy, Earth Island Institute, Berkeley, California
Gawain Kripke, Friends of the Earth, Washington, DC
Kalee Kreider, Greenpeace Energy Campaign, USA, Washington, DC
Winona LaDuke, Honor the Earth, St. Paul, Minnesota
Brent Wilkes, League of United Latin American Citizens, Washington, DC
Michael Mariotte, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Washington, DC
Judy Treichel and Rick Neilson, Nuclear Waste Citizens Coalition, Las Vegas, Nevada
John Passacantando, Ozone Action, Washington, DC
Gordon S. Clark, Peace Action, Washington, DC
Lisa Ledwidge, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Washington, DC
Ellen Thomas, Proposition One Committee, Washington, DC
Anne Anderson, Psychologists for Social Responsibility, Washington, DC
Joan Claybrook, Public Citizen, Washington, DC
Scott Denman, Safe Energy Communications Council, Washington, DC
Corbin Harney, Shundahai Network, Las Vegas, Nevada
Dan Becker, Sierra Club, Washington, DC
Ken Bossong, SUN DAY Campaign, Takoma Park, Maryland
Tom Goldtooth, The Indigenous Environmental Network, Bemidji, Minnesota
Anna Aurilio, US PIRG, Washington, DC
Representative Nan Grogan Orrock, Women Legislators Lobby, Washington, DC
Kimberly Robson, Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND), Washington, DC
State and Local Organizations
Anthony Guarisco, Alliance of Atomic Veterans, Topock, Arizona
Betty Schroeder, Arizona Safe Energy Coalition, Tucson, Arizona
Steve Brittle, DON’T WASTE ARIZONA, INC., Phoenix, Arizona
Andy Bessler, Flagstaff Activist Network, Flagstaff, Arizona
Roxane George, Flagstaff Opposed to Nuclear Transportation (FONT), Flagstaff, Arizona
Pat Birnie, GE Stckholders Alliance, Tucson, Arizona
Ann Carl, Sky Island Watch, Tucson, Arizona
Richard Boren, Southwest Toxic Watch, Tucson, Arizona
Rachel Spigler, Student Environmental Action Coalition, SW, Tucson, Arizona
Jack & Felice Cohen-Joppa, the Nuclear Resister “a chronicle of hope”, Tucson, Arizona
April Ambrose, Student Activists that Value the Earth (SAVE), Conroy, Arkansas
, The Arkansas Public Policy Panel, Little Rock, Arkansas
Marion Pack, Alliance for Survival, Costa Mesa, California
Derek Chernow, Americans for a Safe Future, Santa Monica, California
Philip M. Klasky, Bay Area Nuclear Waste Coalition, San Francisco, California
Jane Williams, California Communities Against Toxics, Rosamond, California
Ernest Goitein, Californians for Radioactive Safeguards, Atherton, California
Michelle Sypert, CALPIRG, Sacramento, California
Daniel Hirsch, Committee to Bridge the Gap, Los Angeles, California
Lyle Talbot, Desert Citizens Against Pollution, Lancaster, California
Mha Atma S. Khalsa, Earth Action Network, Los Angeles, California
Joe Mirable, EcoBridge, San Francisco, California
Barbara Wiedner, Grandmothers for Peace International, Elk Grove, California
Eva Bluestein, Gray Panthers of LA West, Los Angeles, California
Jennifer Olaranna Viereck, Healing Global Wounds, Freedom, California
Don Loweburg, Independent Power Providers, North Fork, California
, Life on Planet Earth, Atascadero, California
Michael Welch, Redwood Alliance, Arcata, California
Molly Johnson, Save Ward Valley, Needles, California
Nancy M. Broyles, The Green Party of Santa Barbara County, Santa Barbara, California
Jean Bernstein, Women For – Orange County Chapter, Laguna Beach, California
Byron Plumley, American Friends Service Committee, Colorado Office, Denver, Colorado
Tom Marshall, Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, Boulder, Colorado
Mag Seaman, The Colorado Environmental Seminars, Denver, Colorado
Jean Gore, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
Sal Mangiagli, Citizens Awareness Network , CT Chapter, Haddam, Connecticut
Susan Perry Luxton, Citizens Regulatory Commission, Waterford, Connecticut
Tom Sivegny and Amy Vas Nunes, Connecticut Green Party, Hartford, Connecticut
Peg Ryglisyn and Mickaey Albrizio, Connecticut Opposed to Waste, Broad Brook, Connecticut
Jennifer Selgrath, E3 (Earth, Equality, Education), Middletown, Connecticut
Susan Alzner, Earth Challenge, Inc., New Haven, Connecticut
Bernadette Del Chiaro, Toxics Action Center, West Hartford, Connecticut
Lizzy Poole, Lower Florida Keys Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Summerland Key, Florida
Virginia Dollar, Alternatives In Action!, Atlanta, Georgia
Adele Kushner, Action for a Clean Environment, Alto, Georgia
Glenn Carroll, Georgian’s Against Nuclear Energy, Atlanta, Georgia
Kathy Dorn, Irradiation Free Food Hawaii, Big Island of Hawaii, Hawaii
Beatrice Brailsford, Snake River Alliance, Pocatello, Idaho
Liane Casten, Chicago Media Watch, Evanston, Ilinois
David Kraft, Nuclear Energy Information Service, Evanston, Ilinois
Christopher Williams, Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, Indianapolis, Indiana
John Blair, Valley Watch, Inc., Evansville, Indiana
Clark H. Coan, The Southwind Group, Lawrence, Kansas
Dr. Albert Fritsch, Appalachia Science in the Public Interest, Mt. Vernon, Kentucky
Irene Wilkenfeld, Safe Schools, Lafeyette, Louisiana
Anne D. Burt, Friends of the Coast -Opposing Nuclear Pollution and Earth Day Commitment, Edgecomb, Maine
Richard Lasken, DC Solar, College Park, Maryland
Debby Katz, Citizen Awareness Network, Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts
Mary Lampert, Don’t Waste Massachusetts, Duxbury, Massachusetts
Rob Sargent, MASS PIRG, Boston, Massachusetts
Matt Wilson, Massachusetts Citizens For Safe Energy,, Boston, Massachusetts
Laura Beavers, Women’s Action for New Directions of Western Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts
Dr. Don Cooney, Bertha Cappan Reynolds Society/Social Workers for Justice Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Gabriela Bulisova, Chernobyl Children’s Project, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kay and James Cumbo, Jr., Citizens for a Healthy Planet, Emmett, Michigan
Gary Karch, Citizens for Environmental Protection, Niles, Michigan
Aaron Hesse, Citizens for Safe Energy, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Richard Jordan, Citizens in Support of the Western Shoshone Indian Nation, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Michael J. Keegan, Don’t Waste Michigan, Monroe, Michigan
Korie Bachleda, Earth Day Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Angie Wilson, EnvOrg Student Environmental Organization, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Dale Anderson, Kalamazoo Area Coalition for Peace and Justice, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Roger Ulrich, Leonard Peltier Support Group, Pavilion Township, Michigan
Jen Seamons, Non-Violent Student Organization, Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Mike Martin, Palisades Watch, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Mary Ellen Gondeck, SSJ, Peace and Justice Office, Sisters of St. Joseph, Nazareth, Michigan
Phil Wintermute, People Against Unsafe Nuclear Transportation, Portage, Michigan
Trevor Darnell, People’s Food Co-Op, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Ronald J. Riley, Professional Inventor’s Alliance, Grand Blanc, Michigan
Earl Hall, Stop the Mobile Chernobyl!, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Virginia Salkowski, Students for a Sustainable Earth, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Susan Fisher, World Tree Center for Peace, Justice and Mother Earth, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Michael Noble, Minnesotans for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Saint Paul, Minnesota
George Crocker, North American Water Office, Lake Elmo, Minnesota
Lea Foushee, Prairie Island Coalition, Lake Elmo, Minnesota
Kay Drey, Missouri Coalition for the Environment, St Louis, Missouri
Billy Stern, Native Forest Network — West, Missoula, Montana
Rick Neilsen, Citizen Alert – South, Las Vegas, Nevada
David Buer, Nevada Dessert Experience, Las Vegas, Nevada
Lisa Guzman, Nevada Empowered Women’s Project, Reno, Nevada
Judy Treichel, Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force, Las Vegas, Nevada
Paul Brown, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada
Susan Lynn, Public Resource Associates, Reno, Nevada
Grace Potorti, Rural Alliance For Military Accountability, Reno, Nevada
Don Vetter, Truckee River Yacht Club, Reno, Nevada
Sean Donahue, New Hampshire Peace Action, Concord, New Hampshire
Jane Nogaki, Coalition Against Toxics, Marlton, New Jersey
Norm Cohen, Coalition for Peace & Justice, Cape May, New Jersey
Madelyn Hoffman, Grass Roots Environmental Organization of New Jersey, Flanders, New Jersey
Gary Novosielski and Joe Mosley,, Green Party of New Jersey, Trenton, New Jersey
John Guinan, NJPIRG, Trenton, New Jersey
Nancy McGreevy and William deCamp Jr., Oyster Creek Nuclear Watch, Island Heights, New Jersey
Peggy Prince, Peace Action New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Shawn Onsgard, Progressive Student Alliance of the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Don Hancock, Southwest Research and Information Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Barbara K. Hickernell, Alliance to Close Indian Point, Ossining, New York
Susan B. Griffin, Chenango North Energy Awareness Group, South Plymouth, New York
Tim Judson, Citizens Awareness Network/New York, Syracuse, New York
Kyle Rabin, Environmental Advocats, Albany, New York
, Fish Unlimited, Shelter Island, New York
Alice Slater, Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE), New York, New York
Sonya Ostrom, Metro New York Peace Action Council, New York, New York
Bill Smirnow, Nuclear Free New York, Huntington, New York
Larry Shapiro, NYPIRG, New York, New York
Ellen Andors, Peoples Video Network, New York, New York
Dr. Helen Caldicott and Scott Cullen, STAR (Standing for Truth About Radiation), East Hampton, New York
D.P.Ransford Bowers, Syracuse Food Not Bombs, Syracuse, New York
Simon Morrin, Syracuse Nuclear Action Group, Syracuse, New York
Jayne Murray, The Working Group on Disarmament of the Western New York Peace Center, Buffalo, New York
Tina Bell, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, NY Metro, New York, New York
Lou Zeller, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, Glendale Springs, North Carolina
Paul Gallimore, Long Branch Environmental Education Center, Leicester, North Carolina
Jim Warren, North Carolina WARN, Raleigh, North Carolina
Harvey Wasserman, Citizens Protecting Ohio (C-Pro), Bexley, Ohio
Chris Trepal, Earth Day Coalition, Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio
Gerry Moll, Walk Across America for Mother Earth, Columbus, Ohio
B.J. Medley, Earth Concerns of Ok (ECO), Tulsa, Oklahoma
Grace Thorpe, National Environmental Coalition of Native Americans, Prague, Oklahoma
Chuck Johnson, Center for Energy Research, Salem, Oregon
Lloyd Marbet, Don’t Waste Oregon, Boring, Oregon
Paige Knight, HANFORD WATCH, Portland, Oregon
Beth Newberry, Indigenous Support Coalition of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
Nina Bell, Northwest Environmental Advocats, Portland, Oregon
Bill Bires, Northwest Veterans for Peace, Milwaukie, Oregon
Michael Carrigan, Oregon Peaceworks, Salem, Oregon
, Pacific Party of Oregon (Greens), Portland, Oregon
Dr. Leon Glicenstein, Central Pennsylvainia Citizens for Survival, State College, Pennsylvania
Dr Judith Johnsrud, Environmental Coalition on Nuclear Power, State College, Pennsylvania
Ann Goeke, Green Party of Pennsylvania, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Charles Sherrouse, Greens of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Gene Stilp, No Nukes, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Katharine Dodge, Northeast Pa. Audubon Society, Honesdale, Pennsylvania
Alec Meltzer, Pennsylvania Consumers Action Network, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Karl Novak, Pennsylvania Environmental Network, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania
Scott Hunter, Philadelphia Solar Energy Association (PSEA), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Ben Stone, R.E.S.C.U.E., Nicholson, Pennsylvania
Scott D. Portzline, Three Mile Island Alert, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Michael Casper, Voices of Central Pennsylvania, State College, Pennsylvania
June Lange, Women in Black, Lancaster Group, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Donald Gagnon, Citizen’s League for Environmental Action and Recovery (CLEAR), Manville, Rhode Island
Harry Rogers, Nuclear Issues Coordinator Carolina Peace Resource Center, Columbia, South Carolina
Lilias Jones Jarding, Bison Land Resource Center, Brookings, South Dakota
Harry Williams, Coalition for a Healthy Environment, Knoxville, Tennessee
Ralph Hutchison, Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Jacqueline O. Kittrell, Physicians for Social Responsisbility, Knoxville, Tennessee
Ann Mesrobian and Tom Dureka, Bastrop County Environmental Network, Bastrop, Texas
Richard Simpson, Border Environmental Network, Alpine, Texas
Charles Chambers, SRA, Chambers Appraisal Service, Odessa, Texas
Michael R. Wyatt, El Paso Chapter, National Lawyer’s Guild, El Paso, Texas
Mike Cormier, El Paso Solar Energy Association, El Paso, Texas
Susan Lee Solar, Grandmothers and Mothers Alliance for the Future, Austin, Texas
Phyllis Glazer, Mothers Organized to Stop Environmental Sins (MOSES), Dalles, Texas
Pete Altman, SEED Coalition, Austen, Texas
Bill Addington, Erin Rogers, Sierra Blanca Legal Defense Fund, Sierra Blanca, Texas
Don Moniak, STAND (Serious Texans Against Nuclear Dumping), Amarillo, Texas
Mick Petrie, Native Forest Network, Eastern North America, Burlington, Vermont
David N. Pyles, New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution, Brattleboro, Vermont
Clay Turnbull, Solar Action for Vermont, Townsend, Vermont
Dave Rapaport, Vermont Public Interest Research Group, Montpelier, Vermont
Liegh Hauter, Virginia Consumer Action, , Virginia
Chris Zeller and Maya Miller, Environmental Center, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington
Lynn Stembridge, HEAL (Hanford Education Action League), Spokane, Washington
Greg Wingard, Waste Action Project, Seattle, Washington
Dave Blouin, Mining Impact Coalition of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
Bonnie Urfer, Nukewatch, Luck, Wisconsin
Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
Susan Young, Wisconsin Green Party, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
Stephanie Kessler, Wyoming Outdoor Council, Lander, Wyoming
International Organizations
Cam Walker, Friends of the Earth – Australia, Sydney, Australia
John Hallam, Friends of the Earth – Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Graham Daniell, People for Nuclear Disarmament, Western Australia, Australia
GLOBAL 2000, The Austrian Environmental Organisation, Vienna, Austria
Pol D’ Huyvetter, For Mother Earth International, Gent, Belgium
Rosalie Bertell, Ph. D., GNSH, IICPH, Toronto, Canada
Tom Clements, Greenpeace International, Washington, DC
Solange Fernex, French Section of Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), , France
Paxus Calta, Friends of the Earth – International, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Daniel Swartz, The ZHABA Collective, Amsterdam, Netherlands
, World Information Service on Energy – WISE, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Carrie Dann, Western Shoshone Defense Project, Crescent Valley, Nevada
Jane tallents, Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Helensburgh, Scotland
Sven Broquist, Friends of the Earth – Sweden, Helsingborg, Sweden
, Green Party of Helsingborg, Helsingborg, Sweden
Birgitta Mo:eller, Swedish Anti Nuclear Movement, Helsingborg, Sweden
Prof. Michel Fernex, MD,, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Switzerland, Rodersdorf, Switzerland
Prof. Michel Fernex, MD,, Physicians for Social Responsisbility, Rodersdorf, Switzerland