American Indian group blasts Obama on nuclear waste issue

​Today Congress passed an Energy and Water Appropriations bill that slashes funding for a proposed national nuclear waste storage site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Big deal, right? Well the move doesn't sit too well with the Prairie Island Indian Community whose reservation near Red Wing resides a mere 600 yards from a nuclear storage site-- a repository that would presumably be phased out after the establishment of a national site at Yucca Mountain.

 

The 40-year-old site is operated by Xcel Energy, which will maintain storage licensing rights to the site through 2014. Today the Prairie Island community put out a press release lambasting President Obama for scrapping the Yucca plan.

"The Prairie Island Indian Community continues to pay the price for the federal government's failure to follow the law and fulfill its promise to find a permanent solution for the nation's nuclear waste," said Prairie Island Tribal Council President Ron JohnsonToday's vote by the U.S. Senate to move the bill to the president is another slap in our face. "Continued inaction and delay by the federal government and elected leaders is irresponsible. We call on Congress and the President to put politics aside and commit to a national nuclear waste storage solution that ensures the safety, health and environments of the communities like ours who live so close to nuclear waste storage facilities."