Lyon County smart to demand a voice on Yucca

For Lyon County residents worried about trains carrying high-level nuclear waste through their back yards, we remind them of these words from Sen. Harry Reid: "The proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump is never going to open. ... The tide is turning on Yucca Mountain, and it is time we look at viable alternatives and realistic approaches to long-term nuclear waste storage."

Even longtime supporters of Yucca Mountain are beginning to change their minds, which will likely doom not only the project, but the proposed rail line that would carry the waste.

The question remains then, why doesn't the Bush administration quit throwing money into the project when there are so many more worthwhile things to do with that cash? The rail line alone could cost more than $1 billion and Yucca Mountain itself could top $58 billion, yet work toward completing both continues.

But there's a lot more at stake than money, and we applaud Lyon County and Fernley officials for demanding a voice in the process. They're sending letters of complaint that a meeting was not conducted in their county about the rail line. The nearest meeting was in Reno, and plans for the rail line came as a surprise to many residents recently.

The director of the state Agency for Nuclear Projects said a terrorist with a missile launcher could put a hole in a cask containing nuclear waste and contaminate a 42-square-mile area.

All we have to say to that is we hope Sen. Reid is a man of his word.