EIS Lawsuit  |  Guidelines Lawsuit  |  EPA Lawsuit  
NRC Lawsuit  |  Nevada Protection Fund  |  Case Status

Despite congressional approval, the battle over whether to put a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain is not over yet. Over the past two years, the State of Nevada has filed major lawsuits against the Department of Energy (DOE), the President of the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The lawsuits ask the courts to declare President Bush's designation of Yucca Mountain invalid because the DOE, EPA, and NRC violated the law throughout the Yucca Mountain site recommendation and approval process. They also request the courts to put a halt to construction of the repository pending final outcomes of the cases.

Antonio Rossman, AttorneyAll lawsuits were filed in either the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals or the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. In addition to the Nevada Attorney General's office, the State of Nevada has hired two different law firms to represent them in court: the law office of Antonio Rossmann, San Francisco, CA; and Egan & Associates, PLLC, McLean, VA.

EIS LAWSUIT
Attorney Joseph Egan
The EIS lawsuit was filed by the State of Nevada on June 6, 2002, against Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham and President George W. Bush. The suit challenges the DOE's Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on the Yucca Mountain repository.

The State of Nevada contends the FEIS violates the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA). The suit also challenges Abraham and Bush's decisions to recommend Yucca Mountain based on the FEIS.

Nevada cites multiple deficiencies of the DOE's Final Environmental Impact StatemenT. Among other things, the FEIS:
  • fails to disclose that the Yucca Mountain site would not be a geologic repository as defined in NWPA;
  • fails to address comments made by Nevada officials in response to the 1999 Draft Environmental Impact Statement;
  • fails to address critical impacts and possible sabotage scenarios;
  • fails to address Yucca alternatives, including a PECO no action alternative, and
  • fails to include vital transportation information.
For example, the State says the FEIS is premature because it does not include transportation routes for the spent fuel. Moreover, the report analyzes impacts from transporting waste from only 77 sites in 37 states. In reality, there are 131 sites in 39 states, as Energy Secretary Abraham confirmed in his recommendation to the President and later testified in Congress.

The lawsuit also points out that the FEIS fails to disclose whether the Yucca repository will be high-temperature or low-temperature. This is a pivotal decision that will determine the entire structure and physical layout of the repository.

The suit also alleges that Energy Secretary Abraham deliberately withheld the FEIS from Nevada and the public. Abraham released the FEIS with his recommendation to the President, violating NEPA regulations by not providing a mandatory 30-day public review period.

The lawsuit concludes that the Final Environmental Impact Statement is full of crucial information gaps, ignores public concerns, and does not adequately predict the impacts of a Yucca Mountain high-level waste repository. Nevada also challenges President Bush's approval of the site based on the faulty FEIS.

GUIDELINES LAWSUIT

Another lawsuit Nevada has filed against the Department of Energy concerns DOE guidelines about Yucca Mountain geologic suitability.

When the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) was originally written in 1982, both Congress and DOE agreed that deep geologic isolation was the required form of containment for the nation's high-level nuclear waste. Nuclear waste remains highly radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years, and no known form of man-made barrier or container is capable of serving as a reliable and safe permanent waste container for that long. Consequently, NWPA expressly mandated that geologic considerations be the "primary criteria" for the selection of the repository site.

DOE's guidelines for selection of the site originally reflected this mandate. In the Yucca Mountain Mission Plan, DOE stated its intent to "place primary importance on the capabilities of the natural system for waste isolation." However, in 1999, the DOE "rewrote" its guidelines to rely primarily on engineered waste packages, not on geologic disposal.

The lawsuit, filed on December 17, 2001, contends that after several years of study, the DOE discovered Yucca Mountain was not geologically suitable due to water infiltration, seismic activity, and volcanism. However, instead of notifying Congress and the Secretary of Energy that Yucca Mountain was unsuitable, the DOE merely changed the rules by rewriting their guidelines.

Nuclear industry lobbyists even tried to convince Congress to change the law by altering NWPA's geologic suitability guidelines. They were unsuccessful.

EPA LAWSUIT

The Department of Energy is not the only agency being sued by Nevada, however. Nevada filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on June 27, 2001.

The EPA was responsible for setting the health and safety standards for residents living near the Yucca Mountain site. Energy Secretary Abraham calls these standards 'safe' and extremely 'stringent'. However, the State of Nevada contends the EPA's standards do not adequately limit radiation exposure. The standards would allow DOE to use 18 kilometers (11 miles) of the Amargosa aquifer for dilution and dispersion of radiation from the repository.

Nevada also claims the EPA did not take into account future growth rates and other changes while predicting future impacts on Nevadans living near the site. Notably, in the 2000 census, Nevada was shown to be the fastest growing state in the nation.

The lawsuit contends that by failing to set adequate health and safety standards for Yucca Mountain, the EPA violated the Nuclear Waste Policy Act and other laws.

NRC LAWSUIT

In conjunction with Clark County and the city of Las Vegas, the State of Nevada has additionally filed a lawsuit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The NRC is responsible for granting licenses to DOE for construction and operation of Yucca Mountain. This case says the NRC acted illegally in revising regulations that govern the criteria to be used for licensing the Yucca Mountain repository.

NEVADA PROTECTION FUND

With all of these lawsuits, Nevada hopes to defeat, or at the very least, stall the Yucca Mountain project indefinitely. But what chance does Nevada really have in the courts?

Nevada State Attorney General Frankie Sue Del PapaBoth Governor Kenny Guinn and State Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa have described it as a David versus Goliath fight, pointing out that the federal government and the nuclear energy industry are formidable opponents with deep financial pockets. "These people are just unbelievable," Guinn told the Las Vegas Sun, referring to the nuclear energy industry. "They don't have a budget and they've hired the best law firm they can."

To help finance Nevada's anti-Yucca battle, Guinn has established the Nevada Protection Fund. The Fund so far totals over $6 million: the 2001 Nevada Legislature appropriated $4 million, and the rest was donated by Nevada cities, counties, and individuals. The funds are being used to hire lawyers and lobbyists and to pay for opposition to the Yucca repository program in states likely to be negatively affected by waste transportation routes.

CONTRIBUTIONS

If you would like to contribute to the Nevada Protection Fund, visit www.state.nv.us/nucwaste, or send donations to:

Nevada Protection Fund
1802 N. Carson St.
Suite 252
Carson City, NV 89701
(make checks payable to "Nevada Protection Fund")

Nevada Protection Fund news articles
       Press Articles 2001-2002

CASE STATUS

United States Court of Appeals District of Columbia CircuitNone of the court cases filed by Nevada have yet come up for review, except for the June 2001 lawsuit against the EPA. In March 2002, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington declined to dismiss the case as was requested by the EPA and its lawyers. On March 12, the court set a schedule for briefs to be submitted about the lawsuit.


Download Lawsuits in PDF format:

Combined Case Nos. 01-1516, 02-1036, 02-1077, 02-1179, 02-1196: State of Nevada v. United States Dept. of Energy (Petition for review from final decisions, actions, and failures to act of United States Department of Energy and Final Decisions and Actions of the President of the United States) (244KB)

Case No. 03-1009: State of Nevada et al. v. United States of America et al. (Concerning the overruling of Nevada's sovereign authority) (540KB)

Case No. 01-1259: State of Nevada v. United States Environmental Protection Agency (42KB)

Case No. 01-1516: State of Nevada v. United States Department of Energy (97KB)

Case No. 02-1116: State of Nevada, Clark County, and the City of Las Vegas v. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (13KB)

Case No. 02-1179: State of Nevada v. Spencer Abraham, Secretary of Energy and George W. Bush, President of the United States (103KB)

For more case-related documents and information:
Nuclear Waste Project Office
Office of the Nevada State Attorney General



Lawsuits in the Press:

June 03, 2003 -- Yucca lawyers to get edited material -- Homeland Security Act cited as reason -- Lawyers preparing to fight the Yucca Mountain project will have to settle for an edited set of documents from the Energy Department, a result of the federal Homeland Security Act -- Las Vegas Sun.

May 06, 2003 -- State argues nuclear waste plan violates Constitution -- WASHINGTON -- Nevada is pursuing a legal case that argues the government's effort to single out the state for nuclear waste disposal was unconstitutional.  Rather than adhere to limits on federal authority, the Bush administration and Congress applied "raw political power" and usurped Nevada's sovereignty when Yucca Mountain was designated for nuclear waste burial through a resolution passed last year, the state contends - Las Vegas Review Journal

February 10, 2003 -- Nevada lawmakers hear outline on Yucca suits -- Robert Loux, administrator of the state Office of Nuclear Projects, told the Assembly Ways and Means Committee four cases will be up in federal court in September, and he expects a ruling in either late December or early January 2004.  The state asked the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to hear all four cases together, a request that was granted. Loux said he’s confident the state’s challenges will be upheld -- Reno Gazette Journal

January 27, 2003 -- Nevada puts five Yucca Mountain claims in one case against NRC -- LAS VEGAS (AP) - Nevada sought to bolster its case against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday by adding elements of its other lawsuits against the federal government's plan to store the nation's nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. ( More Coverage - Las Vegas Review Journal )

January 09, 2003 -- Nevada to file Yucca challenge -- State charges federal government with infringing on its sovereignty -- WASHINGTON -- Nevada plans to file a long-anticipated lawsuit today charging the federal government with violating state rights under the U.S. Constitution in singling out Yucca Mountain for a nuclear waste repository -- Las Vegas Review Journal  ( More Coverage ) ; Download State of Nevada's "Constitutional Petition for Review"
Lawsuit Editorial -- Reno Gazette Journal
Lawsuit Editorial -- Las Vegas Review Journal


January 2, 2003 -- Martin G. Malsch Joins Egan & Associates -- Veteran nuclear regulatory attorney Martin G. Malsch, a former Acting General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and its first Inspector General, joins McLean, Virginia-based Egan & Associates, PLLC as a partner effective January 1, 2003. The firm will be renamed Egan Fitzpatrick & Malsch upon his admission to the Virginia Bar -- State of Nevada

December 03, 2002 -- NUCLEAR WASTE: State files challenge to Yucca -- Legal brief says DOE acted improperly in selecting site -- President Bush and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham used flawed and incomplete information this year to recommend Yucca Mountain for entombing the nation's spent nuclear fuel, leaving many questions unanswered about terrorism, public safety and the repository's design, according to court papers Nevada filed Monday in Washington, D.C. -- Las Vegas Review Journal  ( Editorial - Yucca assurances aren’t reassuring -- Reno Gazette Journal )  ( More Coverage - New York Times)

November 09, 2002 -- Federal court to hear three major Yucca Mountain suits together -- At the request of lawyers for the state of Nevada, a federal appeals court has agreed to hear three major Yucca Mountain lawsuits together.  At the same time Thursday, the court agreed to have the same three-judge panel consider all three suits challenging federal plans to build a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.  Oral arguments on the cases are scheduled for September 2003 before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia -- Associated Press

September 06, 2002 -- State approves contract to continue Yucca legal fight -- $4 million pact retains Virginia law firm -- CARSON CITY -- The Board of Examiners on Thursday approved a $4 million contract with a Washington, D.C., legal firm to continue Nevada's fight against construction of a high-level nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain.  The contract with Egan & Associates of Virginia runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, 2003, and was approved by Gov. Kenny Guinn, Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa and Secretary of State Dean Heller despite concerns over the state's financial health - Las Vegas Review Journal

Sept. 04, 2002 -- Groups File Reply Brief in Case Against EPA’s Yucca Mountain Standards, Seek Stronger Radiation Protection Rule WASHINGTON, D.C. – Seven environmental and public interest organizations suing the federal government over its weakening of groundwater standards for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump have asked the court to require the government to strengthen a rule regarding how to measure contamination from the dump. The request, contained in a reply brief filed jointly with the state of Nevada late Tuesday to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, is part of a legal challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) radiation standards for the proposed storage of nuclear waste at the site.

September 03, 2002 -- -- State to sign new contract for lawyers to fight nuke dump -- CARSON CITY -- State officials are ready to sign a new $4 million contract for high-priced private attorneys who will lead the fight against a nuclear dumpsite at Yucca Mountain.  The state Board of Examiners will be asked Thursday to approve the contract with Egan & Associates, a McLean, Va., law firm that specializes in nuclear issues.

August 31, 2002 -- One of state's lawsuits against Yucca project moves forward Court rejects motion to dismiss case -- Nevada advanced in one of its lawsuits against the Yucca Mountain project when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit declined to dismiss the state's challenge of rules for licensing the planned repository - Las Vegas Review Journal.

August 28, 2002 -- Attorney aiding Nevada's Yucca fight `very encouraged' -- RENO -- A high-profile Washington, D.C., attorney hired by Nevada to help in its fight against Yucca Mountain said Tuesday he is "very encouraged" that the state might have a case against the repository on constitutional grounds -- Las Vegas Review Journal

August 28, 2002 -- List of lawsuits Nevada has filed to block Yucca Mountain. - Reno Gazette Journal

August 27, 2002 -- Del Papa vows fight in courts against Yucca -- RENO -- Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said today the next 18 months are critical in the state's fight to stop the construction of a high-level nuclear dump at Yucca Mountain -- by By Cy Ryan, Las Vegas Sun -- SUN CAPITAL BUREAU

August 12, 2002 -- Judge Allows Suit to Proceed Against Energy Department over Nuclear Waste -- WASHINGTON — A federal district court judge late Friday denied the Department of Energy's motion to dismiss a suit alleging that the agency gave itself the authority to illegally reclassify high-level nuclear waste so that it could leave it at three facilities. In his ruling, the judge, B. Lynn Winmill at U.S. District Court in Boise, said, "[I]t is inconceivable that Congress intended to allow the DOE unfettered discretion in the management of radioactive waste as the Defendants [DOE] have alleged." (A pdf file of the judge's decision is available from NRDC.) -- ENN Online

July 25, 2002 -- Lawyer confident Yucca project will fail -- State's legal strategy for fighting nuclear waste repository laid out at briefing -- The lawyer leading Nevada's effort to thwart the Yucca Mountain Project claimed Wednesday that federal agencies have left a paper trail that shows scientists knew in 1995 the ridge can't isolate the nation's spent nuclear fuel -- Las Vegas Review Journal

July 14, 2002 -- OPINION -- Nevada prepared to fight in court -- Frankie Sue Del Papa, Attorney General, State of Nevada -- Published in the Nevada Appeal (Carson City)  (Related artical - Reno Gazette Journal)

July 11, 2002 -- Goodman isn't optimistic about winning Yucca fight -- Las Vegas mayor returns from 'two brutal days' in D.C. -- Although he spent more than three decades as a criminal defense attorney, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said he is not optimistic that Nevada will win its fight against the Yucca Mountain project in the courts -- LV Sun

July 09, 2002 -- VENUE CHANGE: State pins last hopes on courts -- Elected officials confident they can prevail by exposing DOE flaws -- by Steve Tetreault, Las Vegas Review-Journal

May 23, 2002 -- State to file sixth lawsuit against Yucca -- WASHINGTON -- The state of Nevada on June 4 plans to file its sixth lawsuit designed to kill Yucca Mountain, Nevada sources said.  The lawsuit will challenge the Department of Energy's final environmental impact statement, or EIS, for Yucca, said Joe Egan, the Washington-area lawyer hired by the state to mount legal challenges to the proposed nuclear waste repository -- Las Vegas Sun

April 11, 2002 -- Nevada files lawsuit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission -- LAS VEGAS (AP) - Nevada is challenging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's licensing rule for making Yucca Mountain the nation's nuclear waste dump.   The state attorney general's office filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Thursday against the regulatory commission's November ruling. That ruling established health and safety regulations for storing 77,000 tons of the nation's high-level nuclear waste 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. (Related Story)

March 19, 2002 -- Lawsuits over radiation standards advance -- WASHINGTON -- A federal court has agreed to hear challenges to the government's radiation safety standards at the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada.  In a March 12 order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit set a schedule for briefs to be submitted in lawsuits that were filed last year against the Environmental Protection Agency by the state of Nevada, environmental groups and the Nuclear Energy Institute -- Las Vegas Review Journal

February 18, 2002 -- Yucca strategy: Sue, stall -- State hopes legal battles will slow or kill project --Now that President Bush has approved a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain, Nevada officials plan to stuff the courts with lawsuits, tying up the issue for as long as possible.   Although the state's ultimate goal is to block the repository, attorneys and officials admit that with the federal government's deeppockets and their own questionable legal grounds, Nevada's real court strategy is delay -- Las Vegas Sun  (Related Story - Legislature has few options in 2003)

February 08, 2002 -- State moves on Yucca fight -- Las Vegas Sun

January 27, 2002 -- Letter:  State will exhaust all legal avenues -- including constitutional ones -- I must take serious exception to your Jan. 13 editorial, "The dog that hasn't barked," which suggests Nevada politicians are not pursuing every legal avenue available to defeat the proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain - By FRANKIE SUE DEL PAPA, Attorney General, State of Nevada (The Letter was published in the Las Vegas Review Journal)

January 15, 2002 -- State is geared for years of opposition  Nevada leaders plan delaying tactics, suits over the long haul -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

December 28, 2001 -- State loses another skirmish in fight against Yucca dump   CARSON CITY - The state has suffered a second setback this month in its legal fight to stop the designation of Yucca Mountain as the nation's high-level nuclear waste repository -- By Cy Ryan (Las Vegas Sun)

December 28, 2001 -- Court rejects Nevada appeal of radiation standard  CARSON CITY - The state has suffered a setback in its efforts to fight construction of a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said Thursday -- By Sean Whaley (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

December 25, 2001 -- Nuclear Energy Institute seeks to challenge Nevada's Yucca suit  WASHINGTON - The Nuclear Energy Institute has filed a motion in federal court seeking to challenge Nevada's lawsuit against site guidelines for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository -- Las Vegas Review-Journal

December 18, 2001 -- New Suit Filed Against U.S. About Nuclear Waste Dump  WASHINGTON — The State of Nevada filed suit today in its continuing effort to prevent the federal government from establishing a nuclear waste burial site at Yucca Mountain, about 90 miles from Las Vegas -- By Matthew L. Wald (New York Times)

December 18, 2001 -- Nevada sues Energy Department   WASHINGTON - The state of Nevada filed a lawsuit Monday to halt the Yucca Mountain Project, challenging Energy Department ground rules for judging whether the site is suitable for nuclear waste storage -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

December 18, 2001 -- Nuclear industry studies role in Yucca suit  WASHINGTON - The nuclear industry may intervene in a lawsuit filed Monday by Nevada officials against the Energy Department -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

December 18, 2001 -- Nevada Challenges Revised Yucca Mountain Guidelines  CARSON CITY (ENS) - The state of Nevada sued the Department of Energy on Monday to block approval of a controversial permanent repository for nuclear wastes at Yucca Mountain -- By Cat Lazaroff (Environmental News Service)

December 15, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain: DOE denies appeal on site rules  Denial sets stage for a lawsuit Nevada officials expect to file in Washington -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

December 14, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain battle heats up   WASHINGTON — State officials say they will start using recent government reports about mismanagement and conflicts of interest at Yucca Mountain in lawsuits attempting to block the Energy Department from moving forward with plans to build the nuclear waste dump -- By Doug Abrahms (Reno Gazette-Journal)

December 07, 2001 -- Nevadans plan to file complaint in Yucca case  WASHINGTON - Nevada's lawmakers in Congress plan to file a formal complaint against the law firm that was shepherding the Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain project -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

November 16, 2001 -- Probe confirms conflict of interest for Yucca law firm   WASHINGTON - The Department of Energy could decide within 15 days what will happen to Winston & Strawn, the law firm that is handling the legal work for DOE's Yucca Mountain project -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

November 15, 2001 -- DOE's Yucca probe points to firm's bias  WASHINGTON -- The Department of Energy's law firm on the Yucca Mountain project may have had a serious, undisclosed conflict of interest with the nuclear industry, the DOE's internal investigator today revealed -- By Benjamin Grove and Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

November 08, 2001 -- Nevada congresswoman asks probe of Yucca Mountain law firm   LAS VEGAS — A Nevada congresswoman has asked the District of Columbia Bar to step up a conflict-of-interest investigation of a law firm working on a proposal for a nuclear waste dump near Las Vegas -- Associated Press

November 07, 2001 -- Berkley seeks inquiry into document release  WASHINGTON - Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., on Tuesday asked the District of Columbia Bar to investigate an impropriety allegation against a law firm working on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

October 26, 2001 -- State may challenge approval of Yucca design guidelines   Nevada officials are considering legal options over the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's approval of guidelines that allow the Department of Energy to begin designing a repository at Yucca Mountain, a state official said -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

October 12, 2001 -- Berkley seeks probe of Yucca law firm  WASHINGTON - Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., today asked the Washington, D.C., bar association to investigate conflict-of-interest allegations against the Chicago law firm handling legal work on the Yucca Mountain project -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

September 24, 2001 -- Yucca law firm remains silent on conflict probe   WASHINGTON - Lawyers at the Chicago law firm handling legal work for the Yucca Mountain project - subjects of an ongoing federal conflict-of-interest investigation - are still mum about the allegations -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

September 12, 2001 -- State hires law firm to contest Yucca plan  CARSON CITY - State officials on Tuesday hired a Washington, D.C., law firm at a cost of $2.5 million to fight federal efforts to build a high-level nuclear waste repository 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas at Yucca Mountain -- By Sean Whaley (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

August 04, 2001 -- Yucca Mountain: Law firm conflicts to be investigated  WASHINGTON - The Energy Department's inspector general agreed Friday to look into a law firm's possible conflicts of interest with the government's nuclear waste disposal program, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said following a meeting with the investigator -- By Steve Tetreault (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

August 03, 2001 -- Guinn points to law firm in bid to halt Yucca work  WASHINGTON - Gov. Kenny Guinn has asked the Bush administration to halt work at the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository while investigators examine whether a government-hired law firm had a conflict of interest that could compromise the program -- Las Vegas Review-Journal

August 02, 2001 -- Guinn seeks halt of Yucca work  Gov. Kenny Guinn has asked Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to stop work at the proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain while an independent investigation is conducted into an alleged conflict of interest involving a Chicago-based law firm -- By Mary Manning (Las Vegas Sun)

July 31, 2001 -- Nevada wants Yucca lawyers probed  The law firm hired by the Energy Department to review Yucca Mountain documents -- and is now the focus of conflict-of-interest charges -- has begun an internal examination of the charges, the firm's chairman told the Sun today -- By Mary Manning and Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

July 28, 2001 -- Law Firm Lobbied for Nuclear Industry While Advising Government  WASHINGTON — The law firm hired to advise the Energy Department on how to open a nuclear- waste dump at Yucca Mountain, near Las Vegas, was simultaneously lobbying Congress and the administration on behalf of the nuclear power industry about crucial decisions involving the project -- By Matthew L. Wald (New York Times)

July 27, 2001 -- Law firm for DOE lobbied for Yucca Nevada lawmakers see conflict of interest  WASHINGTON - The law firm being paid $16.5 million by the Energy Department to complete legal work for its Yucca Mountain repository has been lobbying to get the project built -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

July 27, 2001 -- Rival law firm sues over DOE selection  WASHINGTON - Winston & Strawn, a Yucca Mountain project law firm, is not a stranger to conflict-of-interest charges. Two years after the Energy Department awarded the Chicago-based law firm a $16.5 million contract to review Yucca Mountain documents, it is still fending off allegations on several fronts -- By Benjamin Grove (Las Vegas Sun)

July 03, 2001 -- EPA rule for Yucca Mountain faces two lawsuits  The state of Nevada Nuclear Projects Agency and a coalition of national and Nevada-based environmental and public interest groups filed separate lawsuits June 27, challenging the new radiation protection standards for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository -- Environmental News Network

June 28, 2001 -- EPA sued over Yucca standards  Nevada's Nuclear Projects Agency and a consortium of environmental groups filed separate federal lawsuits against the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday challenging the adequacy of the EPA's standards for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository -- By Keith Rogers (Las Vegas Review-Journal)


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