The announcements tumbled out one after another. On Feb. 15, President George W. Bush backed Department of Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham's recommendation of a day earlier and announced to Congress his decision to authorize construction of a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

Within hours, Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn (R) said he would veto Bush's decision, and the state filed one of what is expected to be a chain of lawsuits to block federal siting. The state, Guinn said, has a $5.4 million war chest, is united, and intends to "exhaust every option and press our legal case to the limit."

Bush's recommendation came in a letter to Congress, where the next Yucca Mountain decision will be made. Guinn has 60 days to present his veto to Congress, and the House and Senate then have 90 days to override it by majority votes. If not, the veto stands.

Bush said his recommendation will initiate a "rigorous stage of scientific and technical review" through Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing proceedings. Guinn responded that several federal reports show that site characterization is incomplete and data to justify a license application are missing.

The debate will be intense: The security and safety of leaving 70,000 tons of highly radioactive waste stored where it is, at 130 power plants and weapons sites, will be contrasted to the impact of hauling it thousands of miles on thousands of trucks over decades for burial in the remote desert location.

Despite 40 years of study and arguments, the U.S. is still far ahead of other countries. A report by the International Energy Agency says that no other country even plans to put a storage or disposal facility into operation before 2020.

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