[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 61 (Monday, May 6, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S4726]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              WARD VALLEY

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, the Senator from Alaska, the 
chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, spoke on the 
floor earlier today in favor of S. 1596, which would transfer federally 
owned land in Ward Valley, CA, to the State of California for the 
purpose of building a low-level radioactive waste dump. I want to set 
the record straight and briefly explain why S. 1596 is not in the best 
interest of the people my State of California.
  I am opposed to S. 1596 because it circumvents the efforts of many 
Californians and the administration to put safety first and to ensure 
the safety of the drinking water supply of over 12 million California 
citizens.
  S. 1596 amounts to an unconditional transfer of Federal land in 
violation of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 which 
requires the Secretary of Interior to include ``such terms, covenants, 
conditions and reservations as he deems necessary to ensure * * * 
protection of the public interest.''
  In May 1995 the administration announced its commitment to transfer 
the Federal land to the State subject to receiving a binding commitment 
from the State of California that the additional safeguards recommended 
by a National Academy of Sciences panel be carried out; that the total 
volume and radioactivity of the material to be disposed of at the site 
would be limited to the amounts currently specified in the State 
license for the facility, and that there be a specific limit on 
plutonium deposited at Ward Valley. The State refused to enter into any 
kind of enforceable agreement.
  Lack of cooperation from the State and the discovery of evidence that 
may indicate radioactive leakage to groundwater at a site of similar 
characteristics in Beatty, NV, led the administration to announce in 
February 1996 that it will carry out a supplemental environmental 
impact statement and perform key safety tests at the Ward Valley site 
before proceeding with the transfer.
  The bill transfers the land for a payment of $500,100, and a 
nonbinding, nonenforceable letter from Governor Wilson to the Chairman 
of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the State will ``carry out 
environmental monitoring and protection measures based on 
recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences.''
  The bill is another end-run at a process that needs to put the health 
and safety of California citizens first. It undermines the safety first 
approach that we have been pursing together with the 
administration.

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