During the March 7 regular meeting, the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners approved a letter to the Bureau of Land Management requesting removal of certain parcels of land listed for disposal under the Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation and Development Act, 2004.
The parcels are listed on the BLM Ely Districts Resource Management Plan, which was created in 2008 to identify parcels for disposal. Commissioner Paul Donohue motioned to approve the letter. After some discussion, the letter was approved.
The board discussed answers the county has created to questions asked by the U.S. Department of Energy regarding a possible consent-based solution for storing nuclear waste. The department issued an invitation for public comment, requesting feedback from communities, states, Tribal Nations, and interested stakeholders on important considerations in “designing a fair and effective process.”
Dr. Mike Baughman presented an overview of DOE’s process to develop the voluntary siting procedure. After some discussion that there is a process in place right now via the Nuclear Waste Policy Act and that these procedures should require that existing law be followed, the county’s answers were approved.
Commissioners discussed the need for a procedure with integrity that followed the law. There were questions on how to provide incentives to host a storage facility.
In other business, the board approved a request from the Lincoln County Fair Committee for Western Elite Youth Funds in the amount of $2,740 to help purchase award buckles for the Lincoln County Fair youth activities.
Another item on the agenda was the signing of the 2017 agreement to use the account for low income housing welfare funds by Lincoln County in the amount of $10,000. This was approved.
