When the project was first conceived, its advocates claimed that, to be financially viable, the site would need to store 80 percent of the spent fuel rods produced at 33 nuclear power plants. The proposal hit an obstacle on January 31 when tribal members voted 490 to 362 against building the dump. "On that day, the commercial nuclear industry was beaten by the Apache spirit," said Rufina Laws, founder of Humans Against Nuclear-waste Dumps [HANDs, POB 2659, Ruidoso, NM 88354; fax (505)257-2882] and a member of the Mescalero Apache tribe.
But, after a vigorous and controversial petition drive headed by Fred Kaydahzinne, the reservation's housing director, the tribal council held a second ballot on March 9 in which the tribe voted 593 to 372 in favor of the facility. Because Kaydahzinne's office provides housing to 60 percent of the tribe's members, many opposed to the project claim that residents may have felt intimidated into signing the petition.
After the second vote, the tribal council announced that construction of the storage site would proceed if only 12 of the original 33 plants continued to support the project. Though ten utilities dropped out of the plan, the remaining 23 will fund upcoming planning, engineering, design and licensing for the site. Construction could begin as early as 1997 and the facility could accept its first shipment of spent fuel rods in 2002.
Opponents remain hopeful that the project can be halted. "We believe the site can be stopped during the long licensing process," said Lila Bird of the Water Information Network [WIN, PO Box 4524, Albuquerque, NM 87106; 505-255-4072]. Bird explained that the utilities' support appears to be non-binding and that each company is vulnerable to public pressure. One week prior to the nuclear consortium's announcement that the project would continue, actor Steven Seagal addressed more than 1000 people on the Mescalero reservation, urging them to oppose the site.
Northern States Power is the utility leading the push to build the Mescalero plant. HANDs and WIN are encouraging people to pressure Northern States [414 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55401; (612) 282-1234, fax (612) 639-4575] to abandon the plan and promise never to store waste on Native American land.
