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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
PUBLIC HEARING ON THE
POSSIBLE SITE RECOMMENDATION
OF YUCCA MOUNTAIN

Wednesday, September 5, 2001
6:00 p.m.

700 Moren Way
Elko, Nevada

Reported by: Lisa M. Manley, CCR. No. 271.

P R O C E E D I N G S

MR. O.Q. CHRIS JOHNSON: My name is O.Q Chris Johnson. And one of the hats I wear is the chairman of the Nevada Committee for Full Statehood.

It's a committee that is dedicated to the enlightenment, the awareness, and the empowerment of people around the state to recognize that Nevada is fully a sovereign state and not a federal enclave.

I have a challenge to anyone who wants to read this statement. There is no one who can prove conclusively, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that these lands, these unappropriated, unsold lands of the State of Nevada, belong to the Federal Government. No one can prove that. They try, but they fall short.

The Nevada Committee for Full Statehood can prove beyond a doubt, conclusively, that these lands, the unappropriated, unsold lands within the exterior borders of the state of Nevada, are owned by the State of Nevada.

It's just unfortunate that our government, your State Legislature, namely, the Senate, and our Attorney General refuse to acknowledge that fact and to act accordingly.

As a sovereign state, our governor could right now be dictating the routes to be taken, possible routes to be taken, and the use of the status of Yucca Mountain.

I just found out that Yucca Mountain has been properly removed from state ownership, lands removed from state ownership by proper session under Article 1, Paragraph 8, Clause 17, which allows for the Federal Government to -- and with the approval of the Nevada State Legislature -- to take -- allows the State to set aside, cede land to the Federal Government for those purposes stated under Article 1, Paragraph 8, Clause 17.

Otherwise, all of the unappropriated, unsold land in the state of Nevada is under the control and domination of the governor, the state legislature, the attorney general, and Nevada government as a whole, and the counties.

The counties may play a big role in this if -- when they wake up to the fact that we are a sovereign state.

As to my personal opinion, I believe the Yucca Mountain project is feasible. It's doable. And it will be good for the State.

There is one industry, just one industry alone, the cleaning of the transportation casks -- first of all, the transportation casks are different than the storage casks. I made the tour and this is what I have gleaned from the material that I have read.

So the transportation casks need to be unloaded and repacked into other casks, which will go in the mountain for storage. Then these transportation casks need to be cleaned and made ready for their trip back across the country in order to pick up another load of spent fuel.

Well, that alone will generate over a million dollar business for the area right in the Beatty area, right in the vicinity of Amargosa Valley, Lathrop Wells.

So with Nevada exercising its state sovereignty, Nevada will have full say on how this nuclear spent fuel will be used in the future.

And it is a brand new resource for the State of Nevada. It's worth billions, billions of dollars to the State to be able to recycle, reuse it, send it back out into the industry as radioactive isotopes.

And I understand that through a process, which I am not capable of describing at this point, this nuclear spent fuel can be recycled, regenerated, so that it can be used again to make electricity.

So there is a possibility of nuclear-powered electrical generating plants right on the Nevada Test Site right there adjacent to Yucca Mountain.

So that's pretty much the extent of my comments.

(WHEREUPON, the statement was concluded)

STATE OF NEVADA     )
COUNTY OF ELKO     )

I, LISA M. MANLEY, Official Court Reporter of the Fourth Judicial District Court, Dept. II, of the State of Nevada, in and for the County of Elko, do hereby certify that I was present during all the proceedings had in the matter of the Public Hearing on the Possible Site Recommendation of Yucca Mountain, heard at Elko, Nevada, on September 5, 2001, and took verbatim stenotype notes thereof; and that the foregoing 5 pages contain a full, true and correct transcription of my stenotype notes so taken, and a full, true and correct copy of all proceedings had.

__________________________________
LISA M. MANLEY - CCR-271
OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER

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