Nevada Democrat takes on Yucca Mountain push

Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) is fighting back against emboldened Republicans pressing to restart operations for the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository.

To counter GOP efforts, Titus introduced the Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act, which would require the Energy Department to get the sign-off from all local entities through which the spent nuclear waste would be transported on its way to the repository.

{mosads}Titus tells The Hill she will convince her colleagues to support the measure with a “not in my backyard” strategy.

“All this waste will have to be transported across [the] country, so it will go through their backyards, their schools, their stores, their churches,” Titus said in an on-camera interview. “So if you can make that argument, they start to see the danger of it.”

“Also, it’s a state’s rights argument,” she added. “Sometimes people across the aisle from me can see that argument as well, so that’s kind of how we’ve been fighting it.”

To hear the congresswoman discuss the politics of the matter, watch the video clip above.