[CPEO-MEF] "Divine Strake" is delayed; action at Nevada Test Site still on for May 28th

[marylia@earthlink.net (marylia)]

Hi, colleagues. This is from Vanessa in Utah and was on another list serve
on which I participate. I haven't seen it here yet -- so, please read on.
Peace, Marylia

Nevada blast delay a victory, critics say
Environmentalists, politicians see time as chance to probe risks
By Judy Fahys and Robert Gehrke
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune

Red tape has snagged the federal government's plans next month for a massive
explosion at the Nevada Test Site.
   Court papers filed by Pentagon and U.S. Energy Department lawyers say the
Divine Strake test will be delayed by three weeks.
   "The proposed detonation of Divine Strake will take place no earlier than
June 23," said Jay H. Horman, acting manager of the National Nuclear
Security Administration's Nevada Test Site office, in a statement presented
to the U.S. District Court in Las Vegas on Monday.
   The postponement, rumored last week, marks a victory for critics and
opponents who say the federal government has yet to prove that the massive
explosion will not harm the environment or people downwind.
   The two federal agencies say they need to detonate the 700 pounds of
explosives - an ammonium nitrate-fuel oil mixture many times more powerful
than the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing - to calibrate conventional and nuclear
weapons needed to take out a deeply buried enemy bunker.
   Attorney Robert Hager in Las Vegas said even with new environmental
documents released Friday, it is not clear that Nevadans, including the
Winnemucca Indian Colony, and Utahns would be safe if fallout from past
atomic testing becomes airborne in the explosion.
   "We would like it to be a permanent delay," Hager said, "and we are
prepared to go forward [demanding better information on the environmental
assessment in court until we] put this matter to bed forever."
   The Energy Department's partner in the test, the Defense Threat Reduction
Agency, denied any delay late Monday.
   "As far as we're concerned, we're still saying June 2," said Irene Smith,
a spokeswoman for DTRA in Washington. "We have not received any direction
that would cause us to change the June 2 date at this point."
   But Utah lawmakers, also eager for proof of the test's safety, applauded
the delay.
   "I'm concerned with getting all the facts out for public view," said U.S.
Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah. "So, this postponement may help accomplish that."

   "We would appreciate more time," said Peter Carr, spokesman for U.S. Sen.
Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. "We've been trying to work with DTRA to get the
information that we requested during our briefing and in our letter, and
we've had problems getting that information so far."
    Nevada lawmakers were likewise satisfied with the delay. "Congresswoman
[Shelley] Berkley shares the concerns of those in Utah about the safety of
this test and the larger issue of new nuclear weapons development,'' said
the Nevada Democrat's Communications Director David Cherry. ''Postponing
Divine Strake to allow time for safety questions to be answered is in the
best interest of the families of Nevada and Utah, and no argument has been
made as to why a delay would be harmful. Given the serious concerns raised
by Nevada and Utah officials, a postponement is the only responsible course
of action to take in this case. The burden remains on DTRA to prove this
test is safe, and they have yet to meet that requirement as far as
Congresswoman Berkley is concerned.''
    No information was available from the Justice Department's Washington
lawyers late Monday.
   But, according to Hager, the test must be delayed because the
government's environmental paperwork is not in order. After Hager's original
request for an injunction to stop the test, attorneys on both sides agreed
to a schedule that is being changed to accommodate new information.
   Monday, government lawyers promised a new "decision document" that would
address many of the environmental and safety questions surrounding the
explosion. But they said they could not submit the document until today and
that, in turn, means the court schedule for hearings and other key paperwork
must be changed.
   The additional information will be welcomed by environmental officials in
Utah and Nevada.
   Nevada air-quality regulators have said they don't have enough details
about the blast to decide whether they can issue a pollution permit required
for the blast. Meanwhile, regulators from Utah's air-quality and radiation
offices have been assigned to review the environmental assessment for
assurances that any toxic material from the 10,000-foot debris cloud will
stay within the Nevada Test Site borders, as the government has promised.
The court-wrangling may force yet another, practical delay in the
government's plans for Divine Strake.
    DTRA and NNSA officials said during a tour last month that they won't
load a mountaintop pit with explosives during Nevada's lightning season.
That season begins in mid-June and ends in mid-July.
   ###

Final note: environmental and peace groups and the Western Shoshone
continue to oppose the test. While the test is delayed, there will be an
action (with workshops and other cool things) at the Nevada TEst Site on
May 28. For details, contact Citizen Alert at (702) 796-5662. Or, cruise
the web and contact any of the action organizers. Peace, Marylia

Marylia Kelley
Executive Director
Tri-Valley CAREs
(Communities Against a Radioactive Environment)
2582 Old First Street
Livermore, CA USA 94551

<http://www.trivalleycares.org> - is our web site address. Please visit us
there!

(925) 443-7148 - is our phone
(925) 443-0177 - is our fax


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