Yucca Mountain Falls Under Obama's Budget Ax

After 20+ years of almost universal opposition from Nevada politicians, the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository 90 miles north of Las Vegas appears to have finally bitten the dust. President Obama's budget slashes funding and goes on to set in motion steps to terminate the project. Concurrently, the U.S. Department of Energy will withdraw its license application to operate the site.

The change of political winds in Washington is finally putting Yucca Mountain out of business. In Nevada, however, there never was acceptance of the project among state and federal elected officials. In fact, this is that rare issue where our politicians stood united in opposition, regardless of political persuasion. Even Governor Jim Gibbons, a frequent critic of President Obama and U.S. Senator Harry Reid, issued a statement praising the demise of Yucca Mountain.

Besides not becoming the nation's dump for 77,000 tons of nuclear waste, this decision will save Nevada taxpayers around $1.5 million. That's money that won't be spent on legal expenses to keep fighting Yucca Mountain. Of course, not everyone agrees on a controversial topic such as this. What do you think - is it time to terminate the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project or should it be carried to completion?

Sources: Reno Gazette-Journal, U.S. Senator Harry Reid's website.

Get more Reno / Tahoe information:

- Receive the Reno / Tahoe Newsletter.
- Speak up on the Reno / Tahoe Discussion Forum.
- Follow me on Twitter.