May 21, 2001
Mr. Lake Barrett, Acting Director
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management
1000 Independence Avenue SW, Room #5A085
Washington DC 20585
RE: Request for Yucca Mountain "Consideration Hearing" in Crescent Valley, Eureka County, Nevada
Dear Mr. Barrett:
Eureka County, Nevada is an affected unit of local government under Section 116 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act as amended. It its our understanding that DOE intends to conduct public "consideration hearings" in Nevada this summer to solicit public comments regarding the idea of locating a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada, as directed in Section 114 (a) (1) of the Act.
On behalf of the Eureka County Board of Commissioners and the residents of Eureka County, I am requesting that the Department of Energy conduct a "consideration hearing" in Crescent Valley, Eureka County, Nevada.
Crescent Valley is the second largest community in Eureka County and would be directly affected by the construction of a rail line identified as the "Carlin route" in the Yucca Mountain Draft EIS. The route would be constructed from the Union Pacific tracks in Beowawe, southwest through Crescent Valley, to Yucca Mountain.
As you may be aware, DOE conducted two Draft EIS hearings in Crescent Valley, with a standing-room-only crowd during the evening session. There is a high level of interest in the DOE's Yucca Mountain proposal and its potential impacts from transportation.
Therefore, we request a "consideration hearing" in Crescent Valley, Eureka County, Nevada. The location could also be useful in a regional context, as residents of northern Lander and Elko Counties could also attend. We also support the request of White Pine County to hold a "consideration hearing" in Ely, but this should not be construed as an adequate substitute location for a hearing in Crescent Valley because of the distance involved to Ely from Crescent Valley.
Thank you for considering our request, and we look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Pete Goicoechea
Chairman
cc: AULGs
Congressional delegation
Nevada Nuclear Waste Project Office
Leonard Fiorenzi, Eureka County
Abby Johnson, Eureka County
Vicki Drenon, Crescent Valley Town Center
