Publications
| January 2008 | Mineral County's Scoping comment on DOE's Draft Environmental Impact Statement for A Geologic Repository for the Disposal Of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada and Draft EIS for a Rail Alignment for the Construction and Operation of a Railroad At Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada. |
| November 2007 | Mineral County Baseline Report Update 2007 - (Figures below) This report is an update of the previous baseline for Mineral County showing existing conditions as of 2007. The report provides the most current information on social, economic, public services and facilites, and naural resources available in Mineral County and its communities. This report also contains information about populations, labor force, employment, wages, fiscal conditions, natural resources, and land uses. The report will be used to measure potential changes to Mineral County as a result of the high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain and associated transportation activities. |
| October 2007 | Mineral County comments on the notice of revised proposed policy for
implementing Section 180 (c) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. Our principal concern with the
revised proposed policy is that it has the potential to dilute the original intent of Section 180(c) by diverting the focus of technical and financial assistance away from affected local governments and Indian Tribes. The
Department of Energy’s responsibility with respect to the implementation of Section 180(c) extends well beyond the distribution of funds. It is vital the DOE remain fully engaged in emergency response training and preparation of appropriate units of local government and Indian tribes along waste transportation routes before and during waste shipments to Yucca Mountain. |
| January 2007 | Mineral County Board of County Commissioners Comment on Scoping Meetings. The Mineral County Board of County Commissioners comment on the DOE's Notice of Intent to Prepare a Supplement to the Final Environmental Impact Statement for a Geologic Repository for the Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, NV. |
| June 2007 | Community Survey Results, Yucca Mountain Project, Mineral County, Nevada The characterization of Yucca Mountain as a potential site for the first high-level nuclear repository is opposed by the State of Nevada. Responses to surveys conducted by the State of Nevada suggest that roughly 70 percent of Nevadans oppose the development of the repository at Yucca Mountain. The State survey results primarily reflect the opinions of Clark County, Nevada due to the population distribution in the State and the survey methodology. Over the last several years, Mineral County has monitored local public opinion through a variety of survey efforts. |
| December 2006 | Mineral County Baseline Report - Update 2006 This report is an update of the previous baseline for Mineral County showing existing conditions as of 2006. The report provides the most current information on social, economic, public services and facilites, and naural resources available in Mineral County and its communities. This report also contains information about populations, labor force, employment, wages, fiscal conditions, natural resources, and land uses. The report will be used to measure potential changes to Mineral County as a result of the high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain and associated transportation activities. For your conveinance this report has been split into three sections
due to the large size of the files: |
| July 2006 | Mineral County Community Survey Results 2006 As part of its impact assessment and oversight program of Yucca Mountain, Mineral County initiated a new 2006 community survey using a revised set of questions that are substantially different from previous Yucca Mountain survey efforts. Survey questions were directly related to the Yucca Mountain project and more generally related to nuclear energy, and transportation of nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain. 2006 Survey questions can be found in Appendix A. Several of the questions used in this year’s survey were the same as those used by the Nuclear Energy Institute to gage public opinion about nuclear waste and nuclear energy. |
| July 2005 | Mineral County Nuclear Waste Projects Office July 2005 Community Survey Results Approximately 155 face- to-face surveys were conducted in the Hawthorne area as a follow-up to the 2003 resident's survey in order to ascertain views and knowledge of the repository program from Mineral County residents. The 2005 survey questions duplicated many of those used by the State of Nevada and used by the 2003 Mineral County survey. Using similar questions allows for comparability with other survey results concerning the Yucca Mountain project. A summary of comparative findings can be found in Section 3.0 of this report. |
| Update 2005 | Mineral County Baseline Report Update 2005 This report update the Baseline Report of 2004 for Mineral County showing existing conditions as of 2005. The report provides the most current information on social, economic, public services and facilities, and natural resources available in Mineral County and its communities. This report also contains information about population, labor force, employment, wages, fiscal conditions, natural resources, and land uses. The report will be used to measure potential changes to Mineral County as a result of the high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain and associated transportation activities. |
| July 2005 | Mineral County Nuclear Waste Projects Office July 2005 Community Survey Results Approximately 155 face- to-face surveys were conducted in the Hawthorne area as a follow-up to the 2003 resident's survey in order to ascertain views and knowledge of the repository program from Mineral County residents. The 2005 survey questions duplicated many of those used by the State of Nevada and used by the 2003 Mineral County survey. Using similar questions allows for comparability with other survey results concerning the Yucca Mountain project. A summary of comparative findings can be found in Section 3.0 of this report. |
| August 2004 |
Letter to Dr. Margaret Chu, Director, OCRWM, U.S. Department of Energy. Comments from the Mineral County Board of County Commissioners to the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository. |
| July 2004 | Mineral County Business and Student Survey Yucca Mountain Project, 2004 Question from the survey: Some people think Nevada should stop opposition to the repository and instead try to make an agreement with the federal government for benefits. Other people believe Yucca Mountain is a poor choice, and that state resistance should not be weakened or compromised by entering into an agreement for benefits. Do you believe the state should stop its opposition and make an agreement, or do you think the state should continue to do all it can to oppose the repository, even if that means turning down benefits that may be offered by the federal government? To see the report and survey results follow the link. |
| September 2004 | Mineral County Baseline Report Update 2004 This report is an update of the previous baseline for Mineral County showing existing conditions as of 2004. The report provides the most current information on social, economic, public services and facilities, and natural resources available in Mineral County and its communities. This report also contains information about population, labor force, employment, wages, fiscal conditions, natural resources, and land uses. The report will be used to measure potential changes to Mineral County as a result of the high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain and associated transportation activities. |
| October 2004 |
Assessment of current capabilities and resources of Hawthorne Army Ammunition Depot's (HWAD) fire and emergency services particularly as they relate to Yucca Mountain and shipments of high-level nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel through Mineral County. |
| April 8, 2004 | This letter is addressed to Dr.Letter to Dr. Margaret Chu, Director of Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, DOE and Mineral County State of Nevada's resolution regarding the transportation of high-level nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel. Chu and is from the Mineral County Board of County Commissioners and begins... “Although your instructions for examining potential railway routes to Yucca Mountain restricted study of any route not included in the EIS, the Mineral County Board of Commissioners encourages you to consider two additional rail routes. Mina 6 and Mina 6A option, as identified in the Department of Energy's Preliminary Rail Access Study dated January 1990, offer advantages in terms of total cost, construction, feasibility, and overall environmental impacts. The Mina options would include existing track and previously abandoned rail bed that extended nearly to Yucca Mountain. The Mina options and use of the northern Pacific branch line also provides another major advantage in that all nuclear shipments can bypass the Salt Lake City, and Denver metropolitan areas. Resolutions: The Board of County Commissioners, County of Mineral
State of Nevada. |
| April 2003 | Mineral County's Baseline Report This report provides a baseline description of existing conditions in Mineral County as of 2002. The report provides information on social, economic, public services and facilities, and natural resources available in Mineral County and its communities. The report will be used to measure potential changes to Mineral County as a result of the high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain and associated transportation activities. Additionally, material presented in this report represents a compilation of previous investigations by Mineral County for Yucca Mountain oversight activities such as the Transportation Status Report and Impacts to Mineral County Visitors. The baseline report contains information about population, labor force, employment, wages, fiscal conditions, natural resources, and land uses. The Yucca Mountain draft and final environmental impacts statement contained very little information about mineral County. This report will help supplement the lack of information developed by DOE. The baseline report will be updated periodically as part of Mineral County's on-going efforts to assess potential impacts associated with the Yucca Mountain Project. |
| Sept 2002 | Impacts to Mineral County Visitors and Waste Transportation to Yucca Mountain The purpose of this report is to identify key visitor markets for Mineral County, the Walker Lake and Hawthorne areas. More importantly, key visitor markets will also help identify likely highway transportation routes to the Walker Lake and Hawthorne region used by visitors. Currently, vehicle use is the only mode of transportation available to access Mineral County. Visitors to Mineral County provide sizeable economic benefits to the local economy. |
| December 2003 | Mineral County has completed an initial review of the likely impacts associated with high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel shipments to Yucca Mountain. The initial assessment was largely focused on the additional costs and fiscal impacts to be incurred by Mineral County to prepare for waste shipments. The initial emergency management assessment was part of the Mineral County Impact Report. |
| July 2003 | Mineral County Community Survey of Yucca Mountain Results, 2003 The characterization of Yucca Mountain as a potential site for the first high-level nuclear repository is strongly opposed by the State of Nevada. Surveys conducted by the State indicate that roughly 70 percent of Nevadan's oppose the development of the repository at Yucca Mountain. The State survey results strongly reflect the opinions of Clark County, Nevada due to the population distribution in the State and the survey methodology. For example, in the 1991 State telephone survey only 19 of the 504 respondents were from Affected Units of Local Government (AULG) other than Clark County. It is possible that none of the respondents in the 2002 State survey were from Mineral County. The State survey was intended to represent the views of the State in general, but provides little or no insight about the opinions and beliefs held by Mineral County residents with respect to the repository program. As part of the impact assessment and oversight program, Mineral County Board of Commissioners decided to initiate their public opinion survey in the Spring of 2003. Survey questions were directly related to the Yucca Mountain project and associated transportation elements. Survey questions can be found in Appendix A. |
| August 2002 | There are a number of generator sites in the western United States that will be shipping spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste to Yucca Mountain. These sites are comprised of commercial reactor sites, and DOE facilities in four western states. Those located to the east will probably use highway alternatives such as Interstate 80 to U.S. 93 and 6 in Nevada. The Hanford site and WPPS in eastern Washington will potentially generate the largest number of shipments to Yucca Mountain. US 95 provides easy access to Yucca mountain and avoids larger metropolitan areas encountered using the Interstate Highway System. |
| February 2002 | A Preliminary Assessment of Rail Transportation Impacts in Mineral County This report looks at property value impacts associated with rail operations in Mineral County. Although, Mineral County is not actively being considered as a route to Yucca Mountain, the spur line through the County provides the shortest and cheapest option to haul high-level nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain. For its preliminary impact assessment of the Yucca Mountain Project, Mineral County did consider the impacts to property value along potential truck routes to Yucca Mountain, this assessment is part of Mineral County's on-going efforts to understand the positive and negative aspects of activities related to the Yucca Mountain Project. The assessment of property value impacts largely mirrors studies completed by the State of Nevada for the Las Vegas area, Reno/Sparks, and Elko County. |
| September 2002 | Hawthorne Impact Report, Transportation of Spent Fuel by Highway to Yucca Mountain If a high-level waste repository opens at Yucca Mountain, south of Hawthorne on US 95, a large number of truck shipments of nuclear waste are expected on US 95. Truck shipments of nuclear waste through populated areas lead to a radiation dose to the public even if the transport is incident-free, because no shielding material can entirely eliminate direct gamma and neutron radiation. As a result, residents, vacationers, drivers, pedestrians and workers will get a radiation dose, which depends on the recipient's proximity and exposure time. |