Sierra Blanca Radioactive Waste Site

In 1992, the State of Texas selected a 16,000-acre site near the small west Texas town of Sierra Blanca for disposal of low-level radioactive waste. Activists opposed the proposal on several grounds, including transport safety risks, seismic activity in the area, and charges of environmental racism targeting the poor, largely Latino community. There were national features to the debate as well: some believe that George W. Bush feared pushback against licensing might jeopardize his 2000 Presidential campaign. Opposition had an international aspect as well: the site was only 16 miles north of the United States / Mexico border, and there were contentions that the site violated the 1983 La Paz Treaty. On October 22, 1998, the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission voted unanimously to deny the waste disposal permit.