Nevada's Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval on Monday night rejected President Trump's plan to build the proposed nuclear waste facility at Yucca Mountain, after meeting with the president's energy chief. Energy Secretary Rick Perry met with the governor Monday in a surprise visit to discuss moving forward with construction of the multi-billion dollar site.
"I stressed the need for Nevada to maintain its key role as we seek sensible, stable, and long-term solutions to fulfilling our responsibility to safely manage spent nuclear fuel," Perry said in a statement.
The waste facility, meant to house the nation's supply of radioactive nuclear waste from power plants, has been on the books for decades amid opposition from the Silver State. It was canceled under the Obama administration as a favor to then-Democratic leader Harry Reid. But a court later said the action was illegal and ordered the facility's licensing to continue.
Trump wants the licensing to proceed and proposed $120 million under his recent budget proposal to get that done.
But Sandoval was not open to the idea, saying the meeting was not the beginning of a negotiation with regard to Yucca.
"The storage of high-level waste at Yucca Mountain is not something I am willing to consider," he said after meeting with Perry.
In Washington, D.C., some members of the Nevada congressional delegation blasted the administration for not informing them of Perry's visit.
Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., explained that earlier this year she had invited President Trump to visit the site. "I am troubled that the new Energy Secretary is visiting the site without informing members of the Nevada Congressional Delegation," she said.
Titus wanted the administration to "meet with experts who have spent years studying why the project imperils our state and nearly every congressional district in the country," according to a statement.
Congressional aides said Senators were informed first of the trip over the weekend before telling lawmakers in the House of Representatives.
Others in the House said they were informed of the visit, but want Trump and Perry to understand that Yucca Mountain is fiercely opposed by the whole of Nevada.
"It is important for Secretary Perry to see firsthand the negative impact this project would have on Nevadans," said Rep. Ruben Kihuen, D-Nev.
The state of Nevada has hundreds of contentions against the Yucca Mountain site that the nation's federal watchdog, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, must still take up with the state in an administrative court proceeding to justify building the site.