ERIN NEFF: 'Buried here only over my dead body' - Opinion

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May. 13, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

ERIN NEFF: 'Buried here only over my dead body'

ERIN NEFF
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It's hard to find Nevada residents who still think Yucca Mountain is the biggest issue in the state, but this election year might just put it back on the map.

After all, Sen. John McCain is solidly behind the proposed nuclear waste dump, even though he sometimes wears an environmentalist hat and at other times a fiscal conservative hat.

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Yucca Mountain could be a huge environmental disaster -- and it's already cost enough billions of dollars to actually deserve the honor of federal government boondoggle.

But the recent passing of environmental lawyer Joe Egan pushed Yucca Mountain to the forefront again in my mind.

Egan wasn't just the state's best face against attempts to shove nuclear waste upon Nevada, he was one of those good guys who used his unbelievable knowledge to push hard against nuclear proliferation and win so many battles for the little guy.

Nevada has always been the little guy in the fight against Yucca -- a prolonged war waged by Democrats and Republicans alike, all in the name of "sound science."

Egan helped defend us with his own in-depth training in the field. He had a bachelor's degree in physics and a master's in nuclear engineering, technology and policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He then graduated with honors from Columbia University Law School and launched his own law firm devoted exclusively to nuclear environmental law.

While so many Nevada politicians would publicly stand up against Yucca Mountain, there were times when the public's eye was turned away that they would denounce the project not over safety concerns, but because they felt it helped them politically.

Even before Bill Clinton vetoed interim nuclear storage or before George W. Bush and Al Gore both parsed the "sound science" promises, Egan was on our side. Before John Kerry made a 30-second television commercial solely about Yucca Mountain, Egan was uncovering scathing e-mails and shoddy science within the Department of Energy.

Egan was our face at the Federal Court of Appeals and was one of the reasons the little guy was gaining the upper hand.

The formidable mind who was our truest outside believer lost his battle with cancer. His ashes are to be spread at Yucca Mountain with a simple message: "Radioactive waste buried here only over my dead body."

Egan won't see the day Nevada finally wins the fight against Yucca, either politically or in the courts. But we all owe him a proper resting place where his epitaph never rings true.

Thank you, Joe. Rest in peace, neighbor.

-- -- --

Erin Bilbray-Kohn is one of the many unsung heroes who gives her all for the Democratic Party. The daughter of former Rep. Jim Bilbray is a real roll-up-the-sleeves gal.

This year alone, she organized the massive Clark County Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, which went from nothing to featuring all Democratic presidential candidates in fewer than 30 days.

She also provided communication services pro bono during the fiasco that was the Clark County Democratic Party Convention, all the while trying to keep the spin positive and with a bit of humor.

Bilbray-Kohn may be family in this state's Democratic Party, but she doesn't just come for the holidays. She's founded and nurtured the group Emerge Nevada, a political leadership training group for Democratic women.

She holds workshops and raises money with the best of them. On that note, "What could be better than women, politics and chocolate?" It's the question posed on her latest event invitation -- a fundraiser at the Chocolate Bar in Reno on Friday, just before the state convention.

But Bilbray-Kohn is also raising a farm team of potential female candidates who should be emerging on the scene.

What better way to kick one up to the majors than by making Bilbray-Kohn Nevada's national committeewoman.

Bilbray-Kohn will run for the position this weekend. Current national committeewoman Dina Titus is running for Congress and is not seeking another term.

State Sen. Maggie Carlton has also signaled her intent to run.

Here's hoping state delegates give Bilbray-Kohn a look this weekend. It may be a few years until we see the impact of her farm team, but she's as ready as any of her future candidates.

-- -- --

My colleague John L. Smith sarcastically suggested the Governor's Mansion could be rented to pull in some money for the sagging state treasury.

I don't necessarily disagree, but I'd market it as the Carson City Circus, complete with the freak lady holed up in the master bedroom suite.

Sure, the first lady has raised awareness about methamphetamine, but when Nevada voters picked Jim Gibbons, they weren't envisioning Bill-Hill on Mountain Street.

It may be her greatest leverage in the divorce, but this sideshow is being presented on the taxpayers' dime. The governor may have made his bed, but the one he needs to sleep in is in the mansion.

Contact Erin Neff at eneff@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2906.

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background. Dennis Muaina wrote on June 16, 2008 06:51 PM: Your Sunday's commentary was going really good until you threw in a very prejudiced line, "but the married Mormon governor". I was really offended by the inclusive insinuation that if you are a 'married Mormon' man that you are a sleazeball. I hope that you print some kind of clarification pointing out that our governor has not been a practicing member of the LDS faith for some time and then apologize to your readers for such a mean spirited comment towards a religion. You might want to re-evaluate your thinking before printing because sometimes it's not worth it! Sad Summerlin wrote on May 13, 2008 06:07 PM: Once again, another quality editorial by Neff. Facts wrong... and a Big Who Cares... With everything else going on in the world here and in Nevada, she rights about the governors' Bed... put her and Elfman together and you have an excellent Nevada Rag. pam wrote on May 13, 2008 01:52 PM: Erin Neff says "it's already cost enough billions of dollars to actually deserve the honor of federal government boondoggle". Yes, alot of money has been put into the project, but none of it was federal government money - - it is money that is paid by utility ratepayers specifically and exclusively for development of a repository for spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste. Neff should attempt to sprinkle in some factual information now and then for credibility's sake. Dennis wrote on May 13, 2008 09:44 AM: I'd like to extend my deepest condelences to the Egan family. My mother passed away 2 years ago with the same cancer. Id like to know though that if Mr Egan was not hired by the state of Nevada, would he be giving his own time to the cause of stopping The Yucca mountain project? The political war against the storage is just as it is political. Money is being spent to make sure that the design and construction is based on sound science. Additional money (from DOE)is being spent by political figures such Loux and others to say it is not. I understand that if you are outside looking into the window you will not ever understand what it takes to build such storage. The the scientist and engineers including DOE understand it fully. They are expert and does it on a daily basis. So why is it the these people(DOE)are the bad guys? Maybe they are just there for the pay check to drain the billions of dollars from the rate payers of nuclear energy. Should the State of Nevada sue the US congress for passing this law? It is the law you know. Helen Weils wrote on May 13, 2008 07:40 AM: Hi, I'm Barack Obama, just call me BO. Come on everyone, can't we just all get along? Kumbaya. Just vote for me and I'll give you free health care forever. I'll let all of you illegal aliens "come on down!" Yes, bring your pregnant wives and bring them on in to the emergency room to have those anchor babies and get on welfare! After all, those rich white people can get by on less just like my wife Michelle says. It's high time the welfare state is expanded, after all, we have reparations to make to all of the decendents of slaves. Their ancestors never got those reparations and it's high time their descendants were paid off! I understand that when you raise the capital gains taxes that it will cut tax revenues but that's ok, because it's "fair" that those rich white people pay more of their income, after all, they can afford it. I'll make sure to pull out of Iraq right away even if it puts Iran in control of our oil, but that's ok! We're going to use renewable sources like ethanol that cost more to make in oil and pollutes more than oil and rusts out our gas tanks, but that's ok, it's fair, after all, those rich white people can afford it. By the way, I'll send our troops right over to Africa after we pull them out of Iraq to rescue Africa, they need it worse than we do. Oh yeah, I'm going to renegotiate all of our Nafta agreements with Canada they aren't paying enough taxes to us. Aren't we just going to be one big happy family?? Kumbaya! Your Prez, BO. Willard Roker wrote on May 13, 2008 07:01 AM: The Nevada Test Site is one of the most radioactive places on the face of the Earth and will be for thousands of years to come. What else are you going to do it. If Yucca Mountain was filled to the brink with nuclear waste it still wouldn't compare to the radiation at Yucca Flat. We are stuck with a large radioactive area why not make money from it. Jack wrote on May 13, 2008 06:52 AM: Seems like there is plenty of desert, with no seismic activity in ol' Johns back yard.