The proposed Ward Valley dump endangers the Colorado River. The waste would be buried in shallow unlined trenches - a crude technique which is a proven failure. Three separate reports confirm that radioactivity could find its way to the Colorado River - a major source of drinking and irrigation water for Southern California.
The Department of Interior responded to the public pressure against the dump at Ward Valley, and is requiring additional testing at Ward Valley. Your letters made the difference - thank you. As a consequence, a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) is now being prepared. The SEIS will analyze data from tests at Ward Valley to determine if water has percolated towards the groundwater. The tests will be conducted this winter. The draft SEIS for Ward Valley is expected to be completed in the summer of 1997.
We believe the SEIS will provide the necessary data that will make it evident that Ward Valley is not an appropriate location for shallow land burial of radioactive wastes. There are two bills in Congress which could derail the SEIS process. S1596 (Murkowski R-AK) and HR3083 (Bilbrae R-San Diego). These bills mandate a transfer of land to California and deny any further legal challenges. The governor of California, Pete Wilson, is pushing hard to make this happen. This will endanger the Colorado River and the people, animals and vegetation which depend on it - all the way to Los Angeles.
Because Senate rules permit attaching S1596 to unrelated desirable legislation, the fight in the Senate is most crucial. Two amendments, known as Amendment A and Amendment B have been attached to the Interior Appropriations Bill which the Senate will soon be voting on. These amendments would force the transfer of the land at Ward Valley and enable them to start using it as a radioactive waste dump, irrespective of the testing results and Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement outcome. Obviously, it is irresponsible and premature to convey a land transfer before the studies and testing are completed and adequately evaluated. Senator Boxer is opposed to these amendments and will filibuster. Senator Feinstein has been non-committal. She needs to hear from all of us. Her opposition to these amendments is crucial!
Please ask Senator Feinstein to let the investigative process of the SEIS go to completion in order to protect public health and safety. Ask her to oppose S1596. There is no urgency to pass such a bill.
This potential disaster is far from averted. In fact, we are facing a critical turning point in the campaign - and your help is urgently needed.
California Senator Barbara Boxer's opposition will not be enough to derail Ward Valley's becoming a nuclear waste dump. President Clinton's veto on this bill or any similar bill is our only hope.
Up to now, President Clinton has been content to table the issue, hiding behind a cloak of endless studies and delays. We don't trust that. In 1992, he promised the people of Ohio he would oppose a hazardous waste incinerator, but once he became president he allowed it to start up and operate despite three failed test burns. If the decision on Ward Valley is postponed until after November, there will be no political consequence to President Clinton giving the dump a green light.
It's time to put the pressure on.
Please send a message to President Clinton. For the past four years, Clinton has had a mixed record on the environment. He must take a stand. No more studies, no more delays. He must kill Ward Valley now.
(Senator Dianne Feinstein, U.S. Senate, 331 Hart Office Building, Washington, DC 20510. Phone - (202) 224-3841; Fax - (202) 224-2725, or senator@feinstein.senate.gov and President Clinton, (202) 456-1111; fax (202) 456-2883; email: president@whitehouse.gov)
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1996
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited