SOCIOECONOMIC
Construction and operation of a repository and associated waste
transportation facilities would significantly affect
socioeconomic conditions in Nye County.
The Nye County NWRPO socioeconomic program monitors
key Nye County socioeconomic indicators and conducts investigations of specific Nye
County socioeconomic conditions which could be
affected by development and operation of
high-level nuclear waste disposal, storage, or
transportation facilities.
TRANSPORTATION
Nye
County needs to be certain that construction and
operation of the repository and associated
transportation systems provide for the safety of
Nevada citizens and do not cause undue
environmental, socioeconomic, or other impacts.
Nye
County recently provided comments to DOE summarizing
concerns with the ways two environmental documents
address the overall issue of rail transportation in
Nevada and the nation (see Nye County comments on
DOE/EIS-0250F-S2D and DOE/EIS-0369D). Key
points include:
-
Nye County appreciates that the preferred
alternative now includes, by definition,
shared use of Nevada Rail by commercial
freight operations;
-
A
through-going rail system (e.g. Caliente
to Yucca to Jean or Mina to Yucca to Jean) would
maximize national transportation options and the
flexibility of the Class 1 railroads on the
major northern and southern, east to west rail
routes; eliminate the necessity for rail
shipments through the Las Vegas Valley; and
-
Nye County's "Rail
Transportation Economic Impact Evaluation and
Planning Study for the Caliente and Mina
Corridors" estimates that making
the Mina route a through-going route
would provide superior economic development and
cost advantages when compared to those of a
single spur terminating at the repository.
EMERGENCY
RESPONSE
Radioactive waste shipments from 35 states will
converge in Nye County where waste will be handled,
stored, emplaced, and potentially retrieved for
further handling and treatment. The ability to
prevent accidents (radiological and
non-radiological) and to respond effectively to any
accidents that may occur is a key concern of Nye
County residents.
