Office of the United States Nuclear Waste Negotiator

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

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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

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  1. ^ Richard H. Stallings Biography, Idaho State University Library Archived 2008-11-13 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Hired to Be Negotiator, But Treated Like Pariah
  3. ^ Nuclear Waste Negotiator; A Post With Scant Appeal; `Superbly Qualified' Person Finally Found
  4. ^ Kenyon, Quayne (July 29, 1990). "Former Idaho 'hot property' eyes a hot seat". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. p. 3B.
  5. ^ David H. Leroy, Attorney - Boise, Idaho
  6. ^ "Radioactive Racism: The History of Targeting Native American Communities with High-Level Atomic Waste Dumps" (PDF). Public Citizen. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  7. ^ Richard H. Stallings Biography, Idaho State University Library Archived 2008-11-13 at the Wayback Machine