UGBA 107
Summer 2021
Final Review
Prof. Alan Ross
Recently, two bills have been proposed in the U.S. Congress. The bills propose competing plans
for Big Mountain.
Big Mountain is a peak in Northern Idaho – approximately 12 miles from the Idaho-Canada
border – near the town of Haasville (pop. 7,000). Big Mountain is currently protected from
development by its classification as state-owned recreation land. A group of about 1,000 Native
Americans live on a reservation next to the state-owned recreation land. In addition, Big
Mountain is home to a rare species of wolves that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (F&WS) has
designated a “threatened” species.
Bill #1
A bill proposed by the two U.S. Senators and the Congressional Representatives from Idaho
would declare Big Mountain a U.S. National Park and would place Big Mountain under the
jurisdiction and budget of the U.S. National Park Service. Proponents of the bill argue that Big
Mountain is a significant national landmark because it is one of the highest peaks in the U.S. and
because it provides unparalleled training opportunities for mountain climbers aiming to scale the
world’s highest peaks.
Bill #2
A bill proposed by seven U.S. Senators from Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and
Virginia would commission a $100,000,000 feasibility study by the U.S. Department of Energy
to evaluate the possibility of turning Big Mountain into the nation's first high-level nuclear waste
repository. A similar bill has yet to be proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives. If the
study were to find Big Mountain a safe site for nuclear waste storage, then the bill would call for
up to 100,000 tons of hazardous materials that are currently located in short-term storage in 110
U.S. nuclear power plants (90% of which are east of the Mississippi River) to be entombed at
Big Mountain. The waste would need to be contained for at least 10,000 years because of the
extreme hazards to public health and the environment.
Discuss the ethical, social, economic and political issues that are most important to the bills
under consideration.
1.
Who are the key parties here? What are their interests?
2.
What political tactics might each group be expected to employ to advance and/or protect
their interests?
3.
What political tactics do you believe would be most effective for each party?
4.
What do you expect to see happen here (i.e., Will Bill #1 or Bill #2 pass? Or, will neither
bill pass? Where will the nuclear waste be stored?)