Jeffrey Meehan/Pahrump Valley Times
William Boyle, U.S. Department of Energy geologist (left), stands next to Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill (center) at the south portal of the Yucca Mountain site in Mercury on July 14, 2018. Shimkus spearheaded legislation to move Yucca closer to becoming the nation’s nuclear waste site in the U.S. House of Representatives, which passed the House in May.