In August 2002, after Congress approved the DOE Site Recommendation, the Nye County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) adopted Resolution No. 2002-22 "stating the intent of Nye County to actively and constructively engage with the DOE, the Administration, and Congress as the YMP proceeds to final design, licensing, and implementation. 

The Nye County BOCC believes that the YMP should be conducted in a manner that will ensure the health and safety of current and future county residents. To this end, Nye County prepared a "Community Protection Plan" that identifies the legitimate objectives of the site county, and the protections it expects in the event that the federal government transfers the nation's HLW to a repository at Yucca Mountain.

Nye County will vigorously pursue the objectives articulated in its Community Protection Plan:  local empowerment for assurance of safety and health; equity in transportation; and development of community capacity and resources.  The vision is that, if implemented, the Yucca Mountain Project should not just be a repository where the nation's highly radioactive wastes are transferred for storage in perpetuity, but the center for a community of synergistic scientific, engineering, educational, and entrepreneurial activities for management and possible reuse of the nation's highly radioactive wastes, and for the demonstration of alternative forms of energy for future generations.

In July 2004, the Nye County BOCC further resolved to act to maximize the safety and successful outcome of the Yucca Mountain repository and its transportation system.  This step expressed their belief that implementation of a successful repository at Yucca Mountain in Nye County will require not only resolution of uncertainties in the YMP program itself but also a committed partnership between the DOE and its YMP site county in Nevada.