Federalism in the Context of Yucca Mountain: Nevada v. Department of Energy

Nuclear waste policymaking evokes heated debate. The 1990 designation of Yucca Mountain, Nevada as the sole site to be considered for a nuclear waste repository instigated a fierce and continuing political war between the state of Nevada and the Department of Energy. In the. most recent battle, Nevada v. Department of Energy, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found for the Department of Energy on a funding issue. This case is significant, not simply because of the issue that it decided, but because it represents the latest in a long line of decisions testing the constitutional viability offederal nuclear waste policies.