Opinion: Project 2025 is a Nuclear Disaster for Nevada

For decades, one issue has united Nevada politicians across local, state, and federal levels: Yucca Mountain. Most Nevadans believe developing Yucca Mountain as a national nuclear waste dump is a dead issue. However, the worrisome Project 2025 manifesto from the Heritage Foundation and former Trump officials calls for its revival.

If former President Donald Trump and his running-mate Senator JD Vance win the next election, their Project 2025 could bring back nuclear weapons testing in Nevada and revive the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site. Here’s why Nevadans should be concerned.

Yucca Mountain was chosen as a nuclear waste storage site in 2002, sparking controversy ever since. Thanks to the late Senator Harry Reid, the project was halted in 2009. Located just 90 miles from Las Vegas, many locals fear the risks of storing radioactive waste there.

Trump has flip-flopped on Yucca Mountain, showing both support and opposition at different times. Now, with the potential of his return to the presidency, uncertainty about Yucca Mountain is back. 

Project 2025 — the conservative platform penned by Trump and Vance’s allies at the Heritage Foundation — suggests revisiting plans for Yucca Mountain, potentially restarting efforts to use the site. Additionally, Senate candidate Sam Brown has also flip-flopped on this issue, highlighting his disconnect with Nevada voters.

Storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain presents many risks, including geological concerns and the danger of transporting hazardous materials. Nevada is already engaged in several legal battles over the site, dealing with water rights and safety issues.

Governor Joe Lombardo and other state leaders oppose the plan. Most Nevadans don’t want their state to be the nation’s dumping ground for nuclear waste. The costs and legal problems make Yucca Mountain a tough sell.

Project 2025 also proposes restarting nuclear weapons tests at the Nevada National Security Site, where the last underground nuclear test occurred in 1992. Resuming tests could pose environmental and health risks and escalate global nuclear tensions.

Project 2025 even suggests withdrawing support for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which aims to stop all nuclear explosions. While some argue that testing is necessary to keep the nuclear arsenal safe and reliable, modern technology offers other ways to achieve this without actual detonations.

Reviving Yucca Mountain and nuclear testing feels like a step backward. The national conversation should focus on scientific facts, environmental protection, and public health. We need smart, safe solutions, not risky, outdated ones.

The path forward for Nevada and the nation requires careful deliberation and a commitment to sustainable, safe solutions for managing nuclear waste and maintaining national security. The revival of Yucca Mountain and nuclear testing under Project 2025 represents a potential return to outdated and hazardous policies that have been rightly consigned to history.

Nevadans, with their unique historical perspective and ongoing legal battles, serve as a critical voice in this debate. The broader national conversation must prioritize scientific evidence, environmental safety, and public health over expedient political maneuvers. As we contemplate the future of nuclear policy in America, it is imperative to heed the lessons of the past and forge a path that truly serves the common good.

As Nevadans, we need to say NO! to Project 2025 and Yucca Mountain. The nuclear proposals are dangerous for our state and residents. We need to speak in a singular voice and vote to maintain the Nevada way of life.