Reversing themselves, members of New Mexico’s
Mescalero Apache Tribe voted “yes’ for storage of high-level
nuclear waste on the reservation. The March 9 vote was 593-372 for
accepting highly radioactive waste, compared to a 490-362 vote in
late January against it (HCN, 2/20/95). The project would store up
to 40,000 tons of lead-encased spent fuel rods from nuclear power
plants around the country. Tribal leaders worked hard for their
win, writing almost daily letters to residents, going door to door
and accusing activists against the project of being dupes of Anglo
environmental groups. Mescalero critic Rufina Laws countered that
the tribe “contaminated” the referendum by promising supporters
money – a charge strongly denied by tribal leaders. The Nuclear
Regulatory Commission still must license the project, which
probably won’t open until the turn of the century at the
earliest.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Mescaleros now vote yes.
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