CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Court OKs Quest for Nuclear Dump

Federal energy officials may pursue Nevada as a potential national radioactive waste dump site, despite opposition from the state’s Legislature, a federal appeals court ruled. Nevada lawmakers have attempted to block further consideration of the Yucca Mountain site, 100 miles northeast of Las Vegas, by withholding consent for environmental permits and passing joint resolutions in the Legislature in 1989 expressing “adamant opposition” to the repository. Nevada is the sole remaining state under consideration from among five states originally nominated for site review by the secretary of energy. The state accused the secretary and Congress of failing to adhere to legal procedures in the siting of nuclear waste dumps. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the federal government has not violated constitutional mandates and may continue its review of the Nevada site.