Mission

The Bay Area Nuclear Waste Coalition was formed to stop the construction of a radioactive waste dump in Ward Valley, CA, to protect the Colorado River from radioactive contamination, to achieve environmental justice for the Native Americans whose ancestral home is in Ward Valley, to protect designated wilderness and critical habitat for the endangered desert tortoise and to promote a responsible national policy for source reduction and safe containment of nuclear wastes.

Issues

Nuclear Energy, Environmental racism, Waste disposal, Wildlife, Endangered species

Activities

Technical assistance, Report preparation, Proposal/grant writing, Media/press campaign, Workshops/conferences, Legal, Research, Advocacy, Public education

Programs/
Projects

After a successful campaign as part of the diverse Ward Valley Coalition, the Nuclear Waste Coalition is focusing on stopping the proposal for a high-level nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain Nevada. It is also working on reversing the proliferation of nuclear power and nuclear weapons and on a proposal to support the public's right to know about the generation and disposition of low-level radioactive wastes in the state of California. On-going work toward these goals includes legislative and legal strategies to require the industries that generate nuclear waste to report storage, disposal and production data. The Coalition also works to inform communities and public policy makers about radioactive waste management. The coalition continues to monitor the situation at Ward Valley as well.

Constitutency

Native American/ Indian, General Public

Geographical Focus

Regional, Statewide, National, Tribal

Staff

2

Volunteers

Many

Membership Base

Low income, Middle income, Rural, Reservation-based, People of color, Grassroots, Academia, Researchers, Coalitions/Networks

Publications

Newsletter, Buckeye, 2 or 3 times a year.

Annuual Budget

$10,000-100,000

Year Founded

1991