New Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette skirted a Nevada senator’s questions regarding his position on requiring consent from impacted state, local, and tribal communities in selecting the site for storage of nuclear waste.
The issue of consent is of keen importance to Nevada’s state leadership and congressional delegation, which for decades have been fighting the federal government’s efforts to build a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, about 100 miles from Las Vegas.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D) submitted two questions on consent-based siting in writing to Brouillette as part of a longer list of queries from lawmakers following his Nov. 14 nomination hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
In one of her questions to Brouillette, at the time the deputy energy secretary, Cortez Masto asked: “Do you support ensuring states, local governments, and tribal communities have the right to consent when determining a site for a nuclear waste repository or other nuclear waste storage site?”
Brouillette answered: “As I stated during my previous confirmation hearing for Deputy Secretary of Energy, it is important that States, tribes and communities have a voice in the siting of nuclear facilities.”
The senator followed that up by asking Brouillette whether he supports consent-based siting in determining the location of nuclear waste storage. Brouillette submitted the same response.
The Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted to advance the nomination on Nov. 20, and the full Senate on Dec. 2 voted 70-15 to confirm Brouillette as the 15th energy secretary. He was officially sworn into office last week, followed by a ceremonial swearing-in Wednesday.
Cortez Masto and fellow Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen (D) both voted against confirmation.
