Nevada files brief challenging constitutionality of nuclear dump

LAS VEGAS -- The state of Nevada has fired another shot in its constitutional challenge of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.

The state, Clark County and the city of Las Vegas in January filed an initial lawsuit in federal court contending that it was unconstitutional for the federal government to force a national nuclear waste dump on Nevada.

The parties filed a 61-page opening brief supporting their contention late last week in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

It is based on the principles of federalism and state sovereignty, state Attorney General Brian Sandoval said in a statement.

"At the heart of this case is the question whether there are any constitutional limits on Congress' authority to arbitrarily single out a state and to force it alone to shoulder a burden for the benefit of all other states," Sandoval said.

A federal government response is likely within the next few weeks.

The lawsuit has been filed against the United States, the Energy Department and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham.

Nevada has other federal lawsuits pending against the decision to locate the nation's waste repository 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, including one challenging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's rules for licensing the dump.

Hearings are scheduled to begin in September, and Nevada officials hope the court will consider all the cases together then.