Nuke free 1

Nuke foes challenge government, call vocal opposition
Idaho DEQ's discouraging comments meant to scare away opposition, says Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Free.
By Rachel Odell, Jackson Hole News 2-10-00

Idaho Department of Environmental Quality officials want to distract opposition to a planned nuclear incinerator by discouraging Jackson residents, activists said this week.

Mary Mitchell and Tom Patricelli of Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Free said Idaho state officials are "trying to shift the focus" of the 1,000-plus Jackson residents who attended a hearing last week on a draft air pollution permit for the incinerator. The majority opposed building the incinerator, which is planned for the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory near Idaho Falls.

Frightened governments

But last week government officials said most of the comments recorded are irrelevant because they did not speak to the technicalities of the draft permit.
"Since May we have been pushing for an official hearing and now we get our venue for this and they say they are not going to count the comments," Mitchell said. "People should feel a sense of outrage."

The Idaho DEQ is "nervous" about the opposition, Patricelli said.
"These guys decided long ago they were going to build the incinerator," he said. "To dismiss 1,000 people as irrelevant is totally indicative of the government's attitude. This battle is going to be won in the court of public opinion, and the turnout at the meeting showed our commitment."

National attention

Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Free has increased its effort to make the incinerator a national issue while maintaining local opposition, Mitchell said. The group's membership is growing and national news outlets like the Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, and CNN have reported on the incinerator

Impatient politicians

Further, the Wyoming Congressional delegation has increased pressure on the Clinton Administration to find alternatives to to incinerating plutonium-contaminated waste that is slated for the incinerator. In a letter sent in early February to U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, U.S. Senators Mike Enzi and Craig Thomas, along with U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin stressed the importance of finding an alternative.

Need for presidential pressure

"Although you and other officials in the Clinton Administration have indicated a willingness to explore alternatives to incineration, nothing has happened," the delegation wrote. "It is interesting that at a time when President Clinton continues to designate additional national monuments around the West in the name of preserving our natural and cultural heritage, the Administration has done little to address an issue which potentially threatens two of the 'crown jewels' in the Park system."

The incinerator project "is controversial and has caused a significant amount of concern for folks in Wyoming," they wrote. "Clearly folks in our state are concerned about the incinerator and would like to see other alternatives fully explored."

Incinerator facts

The incinerator will burn about 14,300 cubic meters of hazardous waste stored at INEEL before it is shipped to a permanent storage facility in New Mexico. Citizens fear harmful emissions will travel from the incinerator's stack on prevailing winds to Jackson Hole.
Officials from the DOE are operating under a contract with Idaho to begin removing the waste by 2002. The Wyoming delegates said they understand the waste should be removed from INEEL as soon as possible.

"However, it is also important to understand the concerns the people of Wyoming have about the proposed incinerator and our determination to find an alternative," they wrote. "We would greatly appreciate it if you would further review this entire situation and look for alternatives to incinerating the waste at INEEL. To dismiss the views of the people in our
state regarding the incinerator is unacceptable and will only create further delays in finding a permanent solution to this."

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