KENNY C. GUINN Governor STATE OF NEVADA OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR One Hunderd One North Carson Street Carson City, Nevada  89710 TELEPHONE (775) 684-5670 Fax (775) 684-5683 April 25, 2001   The Honorable Spencer Abraham Secretary of Energy 1000 Independence Avenue SW Washington, D.C. 20585 Dear Secretary Abraham;      Thank you for advising me of your concerns about improving the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Environmental Management program (EM). Without question, cleaning up the environmental legacy caused by more than 50 years of nuclear materials production, weapons development, and nuclear testing is a daunting task. It is my understanding that DOE has spent more than $60 billion to date to address the legacy of contamination throughout the nuclear weapons complex. And while significant progress has been realized, this enormous cleanup effort will need billions more for decades to come. Few Americans realize the cost we have incurred to preserve freedom and democracy throughout the world.      As you know, Nevada contributed heavily to the cold war effort. As the nation's testing facility for nuclear weapons, the Nevada Test Site (NTS), which spans more than 1,300 square miles, was impacted by over 900 nuclear detonations. The legacy of contamination in Nevada caused by nuclear testing, let alone the uncertainties about future consequences to the human and natural environment, have yet to be adequately characterized.      We have nevertheless been diligent over the past decade and have worked cooperatively with DOE's Environmental Management program to identify and assess the consequences of both atmospheric and underground nuclear testing. Surface testing and related experiments have contaminated thousands of acres on NTS while underground testing has left an estimated 300 million curies in the environmental media. Because nearly 40 percent of the underground tests were conducted in or near the water table, the groundwater beneath the NTS contains an estimated 120 million curies of radioactivity. Based on our present, although limited understanding, it is estimated that at least 300 square miles of groundwater and more than 30,000 acres of surface soil (conservatively) are contaminated at the site.      Unlike many other DOE sites, however, the NTS is a secure remote facility and is perceived as posing limited immediate threat to local populations. And while there is enormous soil and groundwater contamination at the site, DOE has chosen to focus EM resources on other facilities in the weapons complex where threats to human populations and the biosphere are undisputable. As such, spending on environmental cleanup and waste management at the NTS has remained marginal since the inception of the EM program -- historically less than 2 percent of all EM spending has been allocated to NTS.      In light of these realities and in an effort to maintain a viable EM program in Nevada, in December 1999 I wrote your predecessor (1) to express my concerns about the level of effort being expended by DOE to assess groundwater contamination beneath the site. As then, I remain concerned about the uncertainties regarding contaminants in the groundwater that could migrate off the NTS. Groundwater in the arid west is a limited and highly sought after resource that must be protected; there are few if any alternatives to replace the loss of groundwater in southern Nevada, which is a fact we cannot afford to ignore.      With respect to your request to strengthen EM's project management, I fully support efforts by the Department to ensure cleanup work is governed by sound science and within budget constraints. Please know that in Nevada we have legal agreements in place governing cleanup and waste management activities at the NTS and other federal facilities. These agreements were developed in a manner that provide ongoing flexibility for re-evaluating priorities so that cleanup activities remain cost effective. The agreements are implemented through the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP). In addition, my office through the Agency for Nuclear Projects, coordinates policy matters involving all aspects of DOE activities in the state. Accordingly, officials from my office and NDEP have long established relationships with DOE's Nevada Operations Office as well as DOE/ Headquarters sponsored EM forums such as the National Governor's Association (NGA), Federal Facilities Task Force, and the State Tribal Government Working Group (STGWG). From Nevada's perspective, these forums along with DOE's established national and local advisory boards are fully sufficient to provide needed input to strengthen EM's cleanup program at the local and national levels.      As requested, my designees from Nevada to support your effort to improve EM cleanup activities at the NTS as well as to provide continued support and participation in the above referenced national forums remain Mr. Robert R. Loux, Executive Director - Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects and Mr. Paul Liebendorfer and Mr. John Walker of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. These gentlemen will be pleased to work with Dr. Carolyn Huntoon as you mentioned in your letter dated April 4, 2001.      Mr. Secretary, I know you are sympathetic to our concerns in Nevada and I appreciate your continued willingness to work with us on all matters involving the remediation of surface soils and groundwater contamination at the Nevada Test Site. Sincerely, Kenny Guinn Kenny Guinn GOVERNOR cc: U.S. Senator Harry Reid U.S. Sentor John Ensign U.S. Congressman Jim Gibbons U.S. Congresswoman Shelley Berkley Allen Biaggi, Administrator, Division of Environmental Protection Robert R. Loux, Executive Director, Office of Nuclear Projects    Federal Facilities Home Page Site Map NDEP Home Page