Waste Dump Critics Win Delay in Vote on Cabinet Appointee

Opponents of the proposed Ward Valley nuclear waste dump in the Mojave Desert scored a victory in the Legislature on Wednesday by blocking a confirmation vote on the man Gov. Pete Wilson appointed as his Cabinet secretary on health and welfare.

Heeding the protests of a parade of opposition witnesses, the Democratic-controlled Senate Rules Committee postponed for a second time action to approve Russell Gould, a career state employee whom the governor elevated to one of the most powerful governmental posts in California.

Gould would have jurisdiction over approving the controversial radioactive site 24 miles west of Needles for permanent storage of low-level radioactive wastes from hospitals and research labs. Opponents claim that major safety concerns have been brushed aside by the Wilson Administration, including the potential for leaching of wastes into the drinking water supply of Southern Californians.

The opponents demanded that Gould’s confirmation be made contingent on his agreement to submit the issue to a state administrative law hearing, where attorneys could obtain safety information and cross-examine witnesses. Gould insisted that more than 30 public hearings have been held and he wants the project to move ahead.

At least two committee Democrats indicated they wanted to vote for Gould but told him that the dump opponents had made a persuasive case. They urged him to pursue a hearing. Thereafter, “we can negotiate,” Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) told Gould.