[OKC] FW: NUCLEAR BILLS IN COMMITTEE Tuesday

[Shauna Struby]

Sustainable OKC has not adopted an official stance on this issue. 

 

We are forwarding the email for your personal information only .

 

On Tuesday, February 17th, 2008, the Oklahoma State House of Representatives
will consider two dangerous NUCLEAR energy bills in its Energy and Utilities
Regulation Committee, in Room 432A of the State Capitol at 1:30 p.m.  

 

On the agenda is HB 1320 "The Affordable Clean Energy Act", introduced by
Representative Mike Reynolds (R-Oklahoma City), which streamlines the
application and permitting process for nuclear energy facilities in Oklahoma
through the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. While the federal Nuclear
Regulatory Commission would continue to have primary oversight in the siting
and approval of permits for any potential nuclear facility in Oklahoma, the
Corporation Commission would be the exclusive reviewing agency for state
approval of such an application, including review of environmental impacts.
More importantly, HB 1320 authorizes the Corporation Commission to establish
rules for utilities to recover their costs for the planning, design,
construction and operation of such a nuclear facility, EVEN IF THE FACILITY
IS NOT COMPLETED! Such an egregious process of forcing the rate-payers to
eat the costs of a dangerous, expensive nuclear facility MUST be defeated!

 

See HB 1320   <http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/WebBillStatus/main.html>
http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/WebBillStatus/main.html

 

Second on the agenda is HB 1750 "The Nuclear Energy Incentives Act",
introduced by Representative Scott Martin (R-Norman), which is a shell bill
set forth to guarantee that the chamber considers such incentives during
this session. The committee will likely strike the title to the bill, which
requires further consideration of the subject, as it relates to incentives. 

 

This will be the first and best opportunity for the public to oppose the
adoption of nuclear energy in Oklahoma and providing investments to an
industry that remains dangerous to the public and outrageously expensive to
consumers of electricity across the state.  We must be vigilant in informing
our elected officials of the need for investment in viable, home-grown
renewable energy resources, such as wind, solar, and geothermal.

 

Please ATTEND the committee meeting at 1:30 p.m. in Room 432A of the State
Capitol on Tuesday, February 17th, 2008, and contact YOUR elected officials
regarding the following facts about nuclear:

*	The average cost of constructing and permitting for ONE new
generation nuclear facility is estimated between $5 BILLION and $12 BILLION.
This estimation does not take into consideration the cost to taxpayers of
existing subsidies provided for the nuclear industry by the federal
government!  

*	According to the Congressional Research Service, the nuclear
industry has cost taxpayers $66 billion in research and development
subsidies. When no private insurer would underwrite the risks inherent to a
nuclear plant, Congress passed the Price-Anderson law, which provides
billions in taxpayer subsidized insurance. While this insurance protects the
insurance industry, it offers no guarantee that victims of a nuclear
accident would be fully compensated because the law's compensation limit is
far below the amount of damage that a serious nuclear incident could cause. 

*	Since 9/11, nuclear energy facilities in the United States have been
considered one of the most dangerous targets for domestic terrorist threats.
The increased costs for security and waste management are not included in
the $5 BILLION to $12 BILLION estimate listed above! 

*	Every nuclear reactor generates about 20 tons of highly radioactive
spent nuclear fuel and additional low-level radioactive waste per year. The
waste can kill at high doses and cause cancer and birth defects at low
doses. Nuclear waste remains dangerous to humans for 200 thousand years. 

*	An accident at a coal plant is a problem. An accident at a nuclear
plant can be a disaster. Because human beings operate plants and drive the
trucks that transport nuclear waste, accidents can and will happen. The
danger with nuclear power is that the stakes in accidents are extremely
high. Anyone exposed to radiation leaks or accidents will likely sicken or
die from that exposure. Cleanup costs will be in the billions. Public
Citizen has found that more than 90 percent of the country's reactors have
been in violation of government safety regulations during the last three
years, potentially increasing the risk of accidents. 

*	Finally, with the BILLIONS required for the construction, operation,
waste disposal, and security measures related to a nuclear energy facility,
enough wind, solar, and biofuels facilities could be constructed to meet the
needs of Oklahoman electricity consumers AND export energy to energy thirsty
communities in Texas, Kansas, and Colorado! The lasting economic impact
related to investment in these viable forms of home-grown, renewable energy
investment dwarfs the same impact provided by a nuclear energy facility.
Furthermore, the economic, health, and environmental costs posed by a
nuclear facility in Oklahoma negates any minor economic development impact
provided by such a facility. 

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR AND VOICE YOUR OPPOSITION TO THE NUCLEAR
INDUSTRY IN OKLAHOMA!!

 

Use the following link to find your legislator and call them on MONDAY
FEBRUARY 16th, 2008.

 

 <http://www.capitolconnect.com/oklahoma/default.aspx>
http://www.capitolconnect.com/oklahoma/default.aspx

 

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD ON THIS CRITICAL ISSUE!!! Thank you and I look forward
to seeing you at the Capitol on Tuesday, February 17th, 2008.

 

Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or
concerns.

 

 

Robert "Bud" Scott, J.D.

Oklahoma Progress Government Relations, L.L.C.
1533 N.W. 41st Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73118
405.445.9435
 <mailto:okprogress at gmail.com> okprogress at gmail.com

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