News Room > Press Releases
April 11, 2002

Contact: Mark Helm, FoE (202)-783-7400 x102
Keith Ashdown, TCS (202) 546-8500 x108
Liz Hitchcock, U.S. PIRG (202) 546-9707 x316

Coalition of Taxpayers, Consumer and Environmentalists Targets Yucca Mountain Project
New Report Lists Proposed Nuclear Repository Among Top Ten Wasteful and Environmentally Harmful Federal Projects

 

Washington, D.C. - Congress and the Bush administration can save taxpayers more than $54 billion by cutting federal programs that harm the environment and waste money, according to a report released today by a coalition of environmental, taxpayer and consumer groups. The Green Scissors 2002 report targets 78 programs environmentally destructive and wasteful programs for reform or elimination. The Yucca Mountain high-level nuclear waste repository is one of the ten "choice cuts" targeted by the report.

"Yucca Mountain is an assault on our environment, our health, and out pocketbooks," said Sara Zdeb, Friends of the Earth's Legislative Representative. "Congress should reject this billion dollar nuclear boondoggle."

The Bush administration has recommended construction of the Yucca Mountain project, a repository that will store 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste. The project is rife with technical and environmental problems, will expose millions of Americans to the risk of transporting nuclear waste to the site, and is expected to cost $56 billion. The federal government has already spent $8 billion on Yucca Mountain, and the White House has asked for $375 million in 2002 alone.

"Taxpayers should not be funding this expensive project that may not even be a permanent solution to the nuclear storage problem, " said Cena Swisher, Senior Program Director for Taxpayers for Common Sense.

"Yucca Mountain will endanger the health and safety of more than 50 million Americans in 43 states as High-level radioactive waste is hauled past out homes and our children's schools on the way to Nevada," said Ben Prochaczka, Nevada Organizer for U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

Over the past eight years, the Green Scissors campaign has cut $26 billion in wasteful, environmentally harmful spending programs. Other programs targeted in this year's report include clean coal subsidies, timber roads construction and petroleum research and development. In 2001, the coalition successfully fought to eliminate the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles saving taxpayers $1.1 billion over five years.

Friends of the Earth is a national environmental advocacy organization with member groups in 66 countries.

U.S. PIRG is the national lobby office for the State Public Interest Research Groups. State PIRGs are non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy groups.

Taxpayers for Common Sense is a non-partisan advocate for American taxpayers. TCS is dedicated to cutting wasteful spending and subsidies in order to achieve a responsible and efficient government that lives within its means.