The Office of the United States Nuclear Waste Negotiator was a short-lived independent agency of the federal government of the United States during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The agency was responsible for the placement and long-term storage of radioactive waste in the United States.[1] It was created under the auspices of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act.[2]
Although the agency was created in 1987, it remained without a head until 1990,[3] when President George H. W. Bush appointed former Idaho Lieutenant Governor David Leroy, a Republican, to be the first United States Nuclear Waste Negotiator.[4][5] In a 1991 speech to the National Congress of American Indians, Leroy stated the Native American's tradition of long-term culture made them especially suited for storing nuclear waste, including quotes from Chief Seattle. This led to sharp negative reactions from the audience, calling it Machiavellian and Orwellian.[6]
In 1993 President Bill Clinton replaced Leroy with former Democratic Congressman Richard Stallings, also from Idaho.
The agency was eliminated in 1995.[7]
United States Nuclear Waste Negotiators
edit| Name | State of Residence | Year appointed | President(s) served under |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Leroy | Idaho | 1990 | George H. W. Bush |
| Richard Stallings | Idaho | 1993 | Bill Clinton |
Footnotes
edit- ^ Richard H. Stallings Biography, Idaho State University Library Archived 2008-11-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Hired to Be Negotiator, But Treated Like Pariah
- ^ Nuclear Waste Negotiator; A Post With Scant Appeal; `Superbly Qualified' Person Finally Found
- ^ Kenyon, Quayne (July 29, 1990). "Former Idaho 'hot property' eyes a hot seat". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. p. 3B.
- ^ David H. Leroy, Attorney - Boise, Idaho
- ^ "Radioactive Racism: The History of Targeting Native American Communities with High-Level Atomic Waste Dumps" (PDF). Public Citizen. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ Richard H. Stallings Biography, Idaho State University Library Archived 2008-11-13 at the Wayback Machine