Yucca Mountain, a proposed nuclear waste repository, is back in the news.

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee debated whether to reopen the national nuclear waste repository last month. The issue has also been injected into the Nevada U.S. Senate race after the Los Angeles Times released an audio recording from 2022 on Tuesday. In the recording, Sam Brown discusses the potential for economic development at Yucca Mountain.

"Yucca Mountain has already been funded. One of the things I'm afraid of is out of a lack of understanding, and with fear mongering that Harry Reid and others have spread, is that we could miss an incredible opportunity for revenue in our state," said Brown during a Southern Hills Republican Women's luncheon at Dragon Ridge Country Club in Henderson, Nevada. 

"If we don't act soon, other states like Texas and New Mexico right now are assessing whether or not they can essentially steal that opportunity from us, and at the end of the day, we all know that Nevada could use another great source of revenue. And it sure would be a shame if we didn't monopolize on that and become a central hub of new development that we can do at Yucca," said Brown.

In response to the audio released by the L.A. Times, incumbent Democrat Senator Jacky Rosen provided a video statement.

"For decades, Nevadans across party lines have been clear that they will not allow our state to be a dumping ground for the rest of the nation's nuclear waste. I've been fighting against Washington politicians; they're just trying to force nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain since Sam Brown was still living in Texas, and his extreme support for this dangerous project proves how little he understands the needs of our state," said (D-NV) Senator Jacky Rosen. 

The Brown campaign provided us with responses to the L.A. Times article and Jacky Rosen on Wednesday.

"I am not strictly committed to opening Yucca Mountain at this time. However, I will consider all thoroughly vetted future proposals, with the safety of Nevadans being my top priority, while ensuring the proposals are substantially economically beneficial," said Sam Brown 

"Sam's first priority will always be the safety and security of Nevadans, our water, and our environment. If a proposal isn't explicitly proven to be demonstrably safe, he will not support it. Senator Rosen is continuing the Harry Reid machine's dirty political tactic of fear-mongering for votes — just in time for her struggling reelection bid. As a U.S. senator, Sam will consider and vet every safe opportunity that brings jobs and economic investment to our state so that we can help working Nevada families earn a good living again and undo the economic destruction that Joe Biden and Jacky Rosen have brought to Nevada." Kristy Wilkinson, Sam Brown for U.S. Senate Communications Director. 

Proposed Legislation Looks At Using Yucca Mountain For Renewable Energy Storage:

Going back to the early 1980s, Yucca Mountain was initially proposed as the nation's permanent underground nuclear waste repository. Political science professor Fred Lokken explains that the issue is that other states are dealing with storing nuclear waste in the long term, but they had never planned to do so. 

"Ultimately, what we believe in the state, from both the Democratic and the Republican argument, is that the state opinion matters. It should go to a state that wants it. So, the conversation in Washington should be what the state wants it, not that we're going to put it here. Apparently, he's not very aware of the Yucca Mountain issue in Nevada and how emotive it is for voters and for electeds. Unfortunately, he's not in sync: short-term profit for long-term risk is not where Nevadans are on this," said Truckee Meadows Community College Political Science Professor Fred Lokken. 

It is important to note that Yucca Mountain remains the official plan of the federal government to handle over 85,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel from various locations across the United States. An increasing number of Republican and Democrat lawmakers in Congress are urging the project to be reconsidered. 

If you want to get a more in-depth perspective on the charged longstanding issue of Yucca Mountain, watch the full interview with political science professor Fred Lokken. 

Political science professor Fred Lokken discusses the decades-long debate over the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear repository in Southern Nevada.