[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 199 (Thursday, December 14, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H14877]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PRIVATE PROPERTY IMPACTS OF H.R. 1020

  (Mr. ENSIGN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. Speaker, I rise again to express my strong opposition 
to H.R. 1020, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1995. My colleagues have 
heard many, many reasons why H.R. 1020 is not a good bill. I have 
discussed at length how H.R. 1020 would preempt States rights, slash 
environmental standards, bust the budget agreement by $4.2 billion, and 
today I will tell my colleagues how it endangers the rights of private 
property owners.
  H.R. 1020 proposes that thousands of shipments of high level nuclear 
waste be shipped from the 109 reactors around the country, across 43 
States to Nevada. As written, there is no language in H.R. 1020 to 
protect private property rights. I know that and many of my colleagues 
and I are strong supporters of private property rights. As this nuclear 
waste travels across our local communities, there is no protection for 
private property owners if their property is devalued. A recent case 
was decided in Santa Fe, NM, that accurately describes the reality of 
this situation. The New Mexico State Supreme Court ruled that Mr. John 
Komis, of Santa Fe, NM, be awarded more than $884,000 for damages 
resulting from devaluation of his land due to the transportation of 
radioactive waste past his property. Your constituents, whether in 
Wichita, KS; Medford, OK; or Charleston, WV, or anywhere along the 
transportation routes, could suffer from this very same experience.
  I intend to offer an amendment to H.R. 1020 to ensure that private 
property owners be compensated for any property devaluation. While this 
single amendment could in no way ever correct all the drastic problems 
with the legislation, it does provide a mechanism to protect the 
innocent property owners from erroneous Government action. I urge my 
colleagues to protect their constituents and support my amendment.

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