The Nevada Attorney General's Office has filed a motion in federal District Court to prevent future shipments of weapons-grade plutonium into the state, pending an appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
DOE disclosed last week it trucked 1,000 pounds of plutonium from South Carolina to the Nevada National Security Site near Las Vegas over the state's objections last year.
The department insists appropriate notice was provided in August when it approved plans to temporarily store plutonium there to meet a court-ordered deadline to remove it from South Carolina by 2020.
Earlier this week, AG Ford’s Office filed a Notice of Appeal to the Ninth Circuit, after the District Court denied a preliminary injunction to prevent shipments of plutonium by the U.S. Department of Energy. On Thursday the office filed the motion requesting an injunction pending appeal to prohibit the U.S. Department of Energy from shipping any additional plutonium into Nevada.
“Today’s motion represents another step in our aggressive, multifaceted legal strategy to prevent Nevada from becoming a parking lot for nuclear weapons and waste,” said Attorney General Aaron Ford. “When the Department of Energy takes unilateral action to ship dangerous material to Nevada, it robs the State of our ability to prepare for the risks associated with transporting and storing plutonium. Frankly, the Department of Energy has lost all credibility and trust, and its assurances that it will not ship any plutonium in the future aren’t worth the paper they’re written on.”
“My administration continues to aggressively pursue every legal tool available to fight back against the Department of Energy’s disregard for the State of Nevada’s sovereignty,” added Governor Steve Sisolak. “Just last month, we met the Department in federal court to discuss our motion for an injunction on its plans to ship half a metric ton of weapons-grade plutonium to our State. Come to find out, that very shipment had already taken place, something the Department failed to disclose to the State and the federal court. Today, the State filed another motion to prevent the Department from pulling this despicable stunt again while the Ninth Circuit considers our appeal.”
Gov. Steve Sisolak wants Energy Secretary Rick Perry to provide more details about the weapons-grade plutonium the government secretly shipped to Nevada and a full accounting of materials already stored there.
Sisolak wrote in a letter to Perry Wednesday that his "callous disregard" for Nevada's interests has endangered residents and "destroyed any semblance of trust" DOE may have developed previously. (AP)
Governor Steve Sisolak has announced that Attorney General Aaron Ford has filed a notice with the U.S. District Court of the state’s intention to appeal the Ninth Circuit decision on the state’s preliminary injunction regarding plutonium shipments to Nevada.
“My administration continues to exercise every legal tool at our disposal to fight back against the federal government’s reckless disregard for the safety of Nevada’s families and environment,” Gov. Sisolak said. “As I said in my State of the State address, I will stand up to any attempt to send even one ounce of nuclear material to Nevada.”
“As I’ve said before, Governor Sisolak and I will vigorously oppose any future shipments of plutonium to our State, and are deeply disappointed by the District Court judge’s decision to deny our attempts to do so,” Attorney General Ford said. “Today, we provided the District Court notice that we will appeal this decision to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. This notice of appeal will serve as a message to the courts and to every Nevadan: that the Nevada Attorney General’s Office will exhaust every legal avenue to ensure the health, safety and economic prosperity of its residents is not jeopardized.”
On November 30, 2018, Nevada filed a motion for preliminary injunction with the U.S. District Court to halt plutonium shipments from the U.S. Department of Energy pending a full environmental impact analysis as prescribed by law. A hearing took place on the state’s motion on January 17, 2019, during which Judge Miranda Du expressed hope that the federal government would not ship any plutonium to Nevada until she had ruled on the state’s motion for preliminary injunction. On January 30, Nevada received notice from the U.S. Dept. of Energy revealing that it had already shipped half a metric ton of plutonium to Nevada. Later that same day, Judge Du denied the state’s motion for preliminary injunction.
