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New Development Focuses Attention on Governor Davis' Plans for the Proposed Dump

Washington, D. C. - On November 2, The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued an official decision to deny the state of California's request for federal land at Ward Valley for the purpose of constructing a controversial nuclear waste dump.

Stating that the Davis administration had refused to respond to a letter from the BLM sent on September 16, 1999, giving the state 30 days to decide whether it would pursue its request for the land, Interior Department representative Sylvia Baca stated that "further activities or expenditures by the Interior Department on DHS' sale request would serve no useful purpose and be imprudent. Accordingly, all actions on this request for sale is denied."

The letter cites various problems with the DHS' request for the land including an analysis by California state legislators that the agency lacked authority to acquire the land. While terminating the current request, the BLM did not preclude the state from submitting a new request in the future.

At the same time, Governor Davis has appointed a Task Force to recommend a policy for the disposition of nuclear wastes generated in California. Environmental and Native American activists have criticized the selection of the panel since the majority of its members represents nuclear waste generators and belongs to a nuclear industry trade organization that has been actively lobbying for the Ward Valley dump for the last decade.

"The decision by the BLM to deny the state's request for the land is a significant step by the federal government to resolve the dump controversy and should influence Davis' Task Force which is stacked with Ward Valley dump proponents. We are now waiting to see how the governor will respond," said Philip Klasky, co-director of the Bay Area Nuclear Waste Coalition.

Once a dump opponent, Davis has refused to take a stand on the issue since elected. As State Controller, Davis authored a study that warned that nuclear waste buried in unlined trenches near the Colorado River could leak costing California taxpayers over half a billion dollars.