The casino industry’s top national lobbyist has contacted a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives to oppose the Trump administration’s plans for reviving Nevada’s Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository.
American Gaming Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman sent a letter last week to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on the Environment and the Economy, which is holding hearings on the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017?a bill that authorizes storage of the highly toxic waste at the desert site 90 miles from Las Vegas.
Citing Las Vegas’ annual tourism of 40 million-plus, the letter describes the city as “the world’s premier tourist, convention and entertainment destination,” and states, “Over the past decade, the Greater Las Vegas area is one of the fastest growing in the U.S. with a population that now exceeds 2.1 million people according to an estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau. Any problems with the transport of nuclear waste to the site, or issues with its storage there, would bring potentially devastating consequences to the local, state and national economies.”
In late December, following Donald Trump’s victory, the Washington, D.C.-based trade group sent the Trump transition team a memo detailing a number of policy issues the gaming industry considers critical: illegal gambling, sports betting, immigration, travel and tourism and Yucca Mountain.
However, in March, Trump unveiled his proposed budget that would allocate $120 million to restore Yucca Mountain, prompting the AGA to go public again to oppose it.
In the letter to the House panel, the group said it “stands with the many concerned citizens, small business operators and bipartisan members of Congress in staunch opposition to any attempt to restart the repository licensing process and will work tirelessly to ensure that radioactive waste is never stored anywhere near the world’s entertainment capital in Las Vegas”.
“I hope we can work together to forge a more feasible solution that addresses both your concerns, and those of Nevadans.”
