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Last revised: December, 1995
Nuke Notes
Saving Ward Valley
by Tori Woodard
Looks like direct action may be needed soon to save Ward Valley and the Colorado River from a nuclear waste dump. As I write this column. Congress and the Interior Department are racing to see who can transfer federal land in Ward Valley to the State of California first. The land must be transferred before the dump can be constructed. Lawsuits will be filed if the Interior Department tries to transfer the land, but the legislation in Congress exempts Ward Valley from any laws under which lawsuits might be filed.
The good news is that our October 10-15 Encampment in Ward Valley motivated a lot of people to work harder to stop the dump. Over 700 people attended the event during the course of the week.
One of the decisions made at the Encampment was to maintain an ongoing vigil in Ward Valley. Ever since October 18, four to twelve people have been camping on the land where the nuclear industry wants to put waste in unlined trenches. The vigil is legal so long as no individual camps there more than 14 days out of 28 (a BLM regulation).
Our ongoing presence in Ward Valley has served as a focal point for resistance to the dump. Elders from the Colorado River Indian Tribes came to the vigil on October 29 and proposed to host a large Spiritual Gathering in Ward Valley from December 1-3. To them, Ward Valley is sacred.
The California State Department of Health Services (which has responsibility for the dump project) plans to evict the vigilers if the land is transferred. Some groups do not plan to leave. Their willingness to risk arrest has attracted media attention to the camp.
In mid-November a spokes council will decide what events would cause us to activate the Emergency Response Network for Ward Valley. We might activate it to support the groups who intend to occupy the proposed dump site. We might also activate it if earth-moving machinery arrives to desecrate the land.
My sense is that emergency nonviolent actions will be needed starting around the end of 1995 -- a perfect time to escape the rains in Sonoma County and spend some time in the desert. Bring warm clothing, though, as some winters are quite cold in this desert area.
We hope nonviolent direct action will delay the dump project, generate media coverage that will educate people about the danger of burying nuclear waste, and cause such a ruckus that policymakers will rethink what they are doing and start handling nuclear waste more responsibly. For us, nuclear waste is just one part of the nuclear chain that starts with uranium mining and includes nuclear weapons, as well as nuclear energy.
A few more people are needed to substitute for the vigilers who must take mandatory fourteen day "vacations". Vigilers watch for any increased activity on the land, help staff our new office in Needles, set up information tables in towns along the Colorado River, give interviews to media, and respond to requests for speakers.
If you can help maintain the vigil, staff the office, or would like to be part of the emergency response network, please contact us at 107 "F" Street, Needles, CA 92363. Our phone number is 619/326-6267; the fax number is 619/326-6268.
If you can't get away, but would like to support our work financially, send a tax-deductible donation to the Bay Area Nuclear (BAN) Waste Coalition, 2760 Golden Gate, San Francisco, CA 94118. Indicate how you want your donation used.
I have been staffing the office in Needles since the end of September. I
see the struggle to save Ward Valley as an immediate opportunity to work
for environmental justice. I hope some of my old Sonoma County friends can
join me.
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