Comments by the State of Nevada on EPA's Proposed New Radiation Protection Rule for the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository

After an exhaustive review process that encompassed EPAÕs proposed rule, as presented in the Federal Register Notice, as well as the reference materials cited in that Notice, Nevada concludes that EPAÕs proposed standard is inconsistent with the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences (as required by the Energy Policy Act of 1992) and the July 9, 2004 ruling of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Not only is the proposed rule illegal, but it stands in stark opposition to three decades of environmental regulatory practice, contradicting EPAÕs own historical approach to public health and environmental protection and setting a disturbing and dangerous precedent for future regulation of radiological and hazardous materials.