Nevada to fight Bush on nuclear waste site

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Nevada's governor said he will challenge President Bush's decision to endorse a proposal to store 77,000 metric tons of the nation's high-level nuclear waste in an underground facility in the state's Yucca Mountain.

The Bush administration has not demonstrated the safety of the site, which the Energy Department submitted for a storage area, Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn, a Republican, said Sunday.

"The law is very clear, and that's why we're going to certainly move forward with a suit with the Department of Energy, Secretary [Spencer] Abraham and the president of the United States because they have made their decision on a false premise that the science is sound," Guinn said.

"Both Democrats and Republicans in our state are resolved to fight this issue based on the lack of sound science."

The governor said the state has filed two lawsuits and soon would file a third "because of the lack of the completed staff work that President Bush made his decision on."

Under federal law, the Department of Energy is charged with finding a final resting place for 77,000 metric tons of high-level nuclear waste produced by nuclear power plants operating in 34 states.

Following a law passed in 1987, the Energy Department authorized the study of the suitability of only one potential underground storage site, Yucca Mountain. Congress exempted other potential sites in Washington and Texas as part of the 1987 law.

Legal challenges delayed a final Energy Department recommendation, and the delays have added considerably to the cost of the project. To date, $6.7 billion has been spent.

The current timeline calls for completion of the Yucca Mountain facility, about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, in 2010. It is designed to receive and store high-level nuclear waste for 100 years. The high-level waste would be stored 1,000 feet below the surface.

Bush endorsed the site Friday -- a crucial milestone in the approval process.

Abraham formally recommended Yucca Mountain as the storage facility Thursday. Top White House advisers wanted to make a quick decision on the matter to minimize press attention and avoid questions about whether Bush was breaking a campaign promise not to approve Yucca Mountain unless it was deemed scientifically safe.

Guinn said the administration took shortcuts in its decision.

"We don't even have an environmental impact study [for the site] when you and I and every state, every city in America has to have one just to build a single-family subdivision," Guinn said.

CNN White House Correspondent Major Garrett contributed to this report.