February 7, 2019
Carson City, NV – This morning, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford announced that his office filed a motion in the federal District Court to prevent future shipments of weapons-grade plutonium into the State, pending an appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
The Motion comes on the heels of a shocking announcement by the U.S. Department of Energy that it had shipped one half-ton of weapons-grade plutonium into the State sometime last year. Earlier this week, AG Ford’s Office filed a Notice of Appeal to the Ninth Circuit, after the District Court denied a preliminary injunction to prevent shipments of plutonium by the U.S. Department of Energy. Today, the office filed the motion requesting an injunction pending appeal to prohibit the U.S. Department of Energy from shipping any additional plutonium into Nevada.
“Today’s motion represents another step in our aggressive, multifaceted legal strategy to prevent Nevada from becoming a parking lot for nuclear weapons and waste,” said Attorney General Aaron Ford. “When the Department of Energy takes unilateral action to ship dangerous material to Nevada, it robs the State of our ability to prepare for the risks associated with transporting and storing plutonium. Frankly, the Department of Energy has lost all credibility and trust, and its assurances that it will not ship any plutonium in the future aren’t worth the paper they’re written on.”
“My administration continues to aggressively pursue every legal tool available to fight back against the Department of Energy’s disregard for the State of Nevada’s sovereignty,” added Governor Steve Sisolak. “Just last month, we met the Department in federal court to discuss our motion for an injunction on its plans to ship half a metric ton of weapons-grade plutonium to our State. Come to find out, that very shipment had already taken place, something the Department failed to disclose to the State and the federal court. Today, the State filed another motion to prevent the Department from pulling this despicable stunt again while the Ninth Circuit considers our appeal.”
The Motion for Injunction is attached.
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