Last week, former Clark County Commission Chair Rory Reid and Nevada environmental leaders gathered in Las Vegas to slam MAGA extremist Sam Brown over his dangerous support to turn Nevada into the nation’s dumping ground for nuclear waste.

Recently resurfaced comments from Brown revealed he thinks storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain is an “incredible opportunity.” When asked to clarify his position, Brown doubled down on his extreme out of touch stance, putting him even further out of state with Democrats and Republicans across Nevada who have long fought to keep nuclear waste out of the Silver State.

Read more about what Nevada leaders are saying about Brown’s support for an extreme plan that would put the health, safety, and economic security of Nevadans at risk:

Nevada Current: Rory Reid defends famous father’s Yucca Mountain legacy

Dana Gentry 

May 3, 2024

• “I’m here as a son,” Rory Reid said. “I’m here to defend my father’s legacy. As you know my father dedicated much of his political career to fighting against Yucca Mountain.” 
• Reid said it was “deeply, deeply troubling for me to hear that someone is trying to drag that legacy that my father proudly built through the mud for their own political game,” referencing audio that surfaced this week of Brown.
• Joining Reid against the backdrop of Interstate-15 and the Las Vegas Strip, Assemblyman Howard Watts (D-Las Vegas) said “all the nuclear waste would be transported right through here,” should Yucca Mountain become the nation’s nuclear waste burial ground, according to Nevada Current. “Any trucks transporting nuclear waste will be going down this highway right past the heart of our community. The trains would go right behind where we’re gathered today along this rail line.” 
• Brown’s 2022 remarks come on the heels of a U.S. House Energy and Commerce hearing earlier this month in which chair Cathy McMorris Rogers and other Republicans called for restarting the licensing process for the Yucca Mountain project.

KTNV [VIDEO]: Yucca Mountain Is Back in the News 

• ANCHOR: Well, Yucca Mountain, a controversial proposed nuclear waste repository is back in the news tonight. And it’s also become a topic of debate in the Nevada U.S. Senate race after Sam Brown’s comments on the potential for economic development at that site. Now, Nevada environmental leaders say this could impact the community significantly.
• CINTHIA MOORE: Yucca Mountain poses a direct threat to our national security, to our environment and the health of our workers. But as a mother, I’m concerned about Nevada’s future if Yucca ever becomes a reality.

The Nevadan News: Republican Sam Brown’s past support for Yucca Mountain draws criticism 

Casey Harrison 

May 3, 2024

• But since those efforts to develop the project began, Republicans and Democratic governors, state legislators, and federal lawmakers have remained united in opposing Yucca Mountain over fears that any potential catastrophe could ruin Las Vegas’ reputation as a travel destination.
• Reid at Thursday’s event called Brown’s pro-business argument “naive.” Reid’s late father, former longtime US Sen. Harry Reid, is widely credited with helping stall the program during his decades-long tenure in Washington.
• “Nevadans have been standing as a united front against Yucca Mountain for decades because we know how dangerous this proposal would be for the health, safety, and economic security of people across the entire state,” [Kristee Watson, executive director of Nevada Conservation League] said.

Las Vegas Sun: Nevada Democrats turn up pressure on Sam Brown over Yucca Mountain  

Ayden Runnels

May 3, 2024

• “Sam Brown is one of the extreme few who believes that this is something that would make sense for Nevada,” state Assemblyman Howard Watts said during the meeting. “It puts him dramatically out of touch with the people of this state.”
• “This issue isn’t Republicans versus Democrats, it’s Sam Brown versus Nevada,” said Rory Reid, former chair of the Clark County Commission and the son of the late Sen. Harry Reid, who gained assurances as Senate Democratic leader from administrations to not fund efforts to license Yucca Mountain. “Mr. Brown’s position ignores the collective wisdom of almost every other Nevadan that has ever been elected to serve this state in any capacity.”

Speakers at the event Thursday said that no solution would be appropriate without the express approval of Nevadans.