U.S. Targets 7 States East of the Rockies for A--Waste : Opponents Lay Plans for Fight

The Energy Department announced today that it has narrowed possible sites for a second high-level nuclear waste dump to 20 locations in seven states, all east of the Rockies, with a dozen tagged as primary choices.

The sites--winnowed from an initial list of 235 rock formations in 17 states--were identified by the department’s Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management as worthy of further intensive study.

The favored locations are in Minnesota, Maine, Virginia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Georgia. Even before the formal announcement, state officials began making plans to fight having the dump in their state.

The government is still in the process of settling on a location for its first high-level nuclear dump, a project begun under orders from Congress to find a safe way to store deadly waste from atomic power plants.

Operation in 20 Years

Final selection of the second site is several years away, and officials said that if Congress eventually orders construction, the repository will begin operating in about 20 years.

A decision on the first site to be used is scheduled for 1991, by whoever is President. The second site is to be picked in 1994.

A dozen of the locations named today were described as “potentially acceptable sites for a second high-level waste repository.”

The department designated eight secondary sites that may be tapped for in-depth study if any of the top 12 proves unsuitable.

Of the primary sites, three are in Minnesota, two each in Maine, Virginia and North Carolina, and one each in Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Georgia. The backup list includes five sites in Minnesota and one each in Georgia, Virginia and Wisconsin.

3 Sites for 1st Repository

The list of prospective sites for the first repository has been narrowed to three: Deaf Smith County, Tex.; Yucca Mountain in Nevada, and Hanford, Wash.

The facilities will be used to isolate high-level radioactive waste--mostly spent fuel rods--from the nation’s nuclear power plants. The material, which has been piling up since the first commercial reactor began operation nearly 30 years ago, remains radioactive for thousands of years.

The waste now is stored at reactor sites scattered across the country, a temporary solution that officials say is being pushed to dangerous limits.

Public Hearings to Be Held

Under procedures for selecting the dump site, public hearings will be held in the affected states and more studies will be conducted to ensure that the geological formations being considered can safely confine the waste.

Considerable controversy--including state lawsuits against the federal government--has surrounded the selection process for the first dump site, and it is clear that the second round will be no different.

New Hampshire Gov. John H. Sununu, forecasting selection of a site in his state, said Wednesday that officials will “prepare the strongest possible case to make sure (New Hampshire) is not selected.”

In addition to the states named today, those on the initial list of 17 for the second dump were Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Vermont.