Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Nevada officials anticipate Perry’s replacement to have same views on Yucca Mountain

Rick Perry

Chris Carlson / AP

Energy Secretary Rick Perry is leaving the Trump administration on Dec. 1. But Nevadans opposed to the Yucca Mountain national nuclear waste repository aren’t sad to see him go. “I wish I could say I was going to miss Secretary Perry, but that is not the case. Secretary Perry did nothing to fix the broken nuclear waste program,” said Bob Halstead, executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry's departure from the Trump administration on Dec. 1 isn't breaking the heart of any Nevadans involved in fighting the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.

And President Donald Trump's announced replacement for the post is expected to continue Perry's renewed push to make Nevada the nation's nuclear waste dump.

Perry’s tenure as head of the Department of Energy notably included controversial, secret shipments of weapons-grade plutonium and low-level radioactive waste mislabeled and out of compliance with safety regulations into Nevada, and he often clashed with members of the state's congressional delegation and other Nevada officials regarding development of the Yucca Mountain site, which had been pulled off the table during the Obama administration.

“I wish I could say I was going to miss Secretary Perry, but that is not the case. Secretary Perry did nothing to fix the broken nuclear waste program,” said Bob Halstead, executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects. “Three times he asked Congress for more than a $100 million to restart the Yucca Mountain repository project. He is responsible for the secret plutonium shipments to Nevada. He didn’t just fail to make the relationship between the Department of Energy and Nevada better. Secretary Perry made the relationship worse.”

Perry’s impending departure had been expected for a while — Halstead said that he had heard for over a month from “reliable sources” that Perry would be resigning.

Almost immediately after Perry announced his departure, Trump tweeted that he would nominate Dan Brouillette, deputy energy secretary, to fill Perry's post.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said in a statement that it would be important for Brouillette to hear about the state’s opposition to the Yucca Mountain repository. In 2017, Cortez Masto opposed Brouillette’s nomination as deputy energy secretary due to comments he made on Yucca Mountain.

“It’s imperative that our next energy secretary respect the voices of the overwhelming majority of Nevadans who oppose the Yucca Mountain project and honor the written commitment I secured from Secretary Perry to remove the secret shipment of plutonium from our state beginning in 2021,” Cortez Masto said. “I look forward to meeting with Deputy Secretary Brouillette and reiterating the importance of these issues to Nevadans.”

Democratic Rep. Dina Titus, who represents the 1st Congressional District that includes much of Las Vegas, said Brouillette’s nomination was part of the push by the Trump administration to relicense Yucca Mountain.

“Trump’s nominee to lead the Energy Department has spent his career advancing the dangerous effort to revive Yucca Mountain,” she said in a statement. “This nomination is an attack on the state of Nevada and another attempt by the Trump administration to make our state the dumping ground for the nation’s nuclear waste.”

Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford, whose sprawling 4th Congressional District includes the proposed nuclear waste site and who earlier called on Perry to resign, indicated he expected no change in the administration's objectives toward Yucca Mountain.

“I hope that Mr. Brouillette will do right by the people of Nevada; however, the Trump administration’s Energy Department has been dogged in their pursuit of relicensing the Yucca Mountain waste facility,” Horsford said in a statement. “Sadly, I am not hopeful that this appointment changes this administration’s posture on the issue. As a member of the Natural Resources Committee, I will continue to push back on these attempts for the people of Nevada.”

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said Perry oversaw the Department of Energy when it “betrayed the trust” of Nevadans, and that she hoped the next energy secretary would work to rebuild trust between the department and the state's residents.

“No matter who this administration puts forth to lead the Department of Energy, the next energy secretary must from Day One work hard to restore Nevadans’ trust that DOE has lost through recent actions,” she said in a statement. “That includes honoring our state’s opposition to dumping the nation’s nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain and working to remove the weapons-grade plutonium from Nevada that was shipped to our state without consent.”

Democratic Rep. Susie Lee, who represents the 3rd Congressional District in Southern Nevada, declined comment on Brouillette and his pending nomination. and Rep. Mark Amodei, from the 2nd District in Northern Nevada and the lone Republican in the state congressional delegation, was not immediately available for comment due to travel.