Rand Paul: Yucca Mountain Land Should Go to State to Decide

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul says he'd be inclined to return federal land for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site back to the state, and "you decide what you want to do with Yucca Mountain."

The answer received applause from about 100 people gathered for a meeting of The Economic Club of Las Vegas a day after the Republican presidential debate held at The Venetian Las Vegas.

Yucca Mountain sits 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas and was first proposed as a place to bury the nation's nuclear waste more than 30 years ago with the state since divided on the issue.

The Kentucky senator joked he couldn't come to Nevada without getting a Yucca Mountain question and said he generally supports states being given control of land.