Nuclear power control debate rages on

The role and limit of local government is at the center of a fierce debate about the future of nuclear power in Idaho.

An opinion written by Idaho’s attorney general cites serious problems with a proposed ballot initiative that would require a statewide vote to approve the permit for any new nuclear or coal power plant. The initiative would also create a moratorium on any new nuclear power plants until a waste repository was opened.
Peter Rickards, a Twin Falls physician who wrote the initiative, said he has rewritten the initiative to correct the attorney general’s criticisms.
Rickards said he is concerned about a proposal by Alternate Energy Holdings to build a nuclear reactor in Owyhee County. Three county commissioners oversee the permit process there, but a commercial nuclear reactor could impact the entire state.
Alternate Energy Holdings announced in December 2006 that it planned to build the Idaho Energy Complex – the state’s first commercial nuclear reactor – on farmland near Bruneau.
Alternate Energy Holdings filed a conditional use permit with the county in July 2007, but the project may not move forward.
On Feb. 8, the Snake River Alliance, a local nuclear watchdog group, announced it had uncovered documents showing that Alternate Energy Holdings has not paid $50,000 in fees they owed the county to offset the cost of processing their conditional use permit.
The Snake River Alliance obtained a letter written Feb. 1 by Owyhee County Planning and Zoning Administrator Mary Huff to Alternate Energy Holdings CEO Don Gillispie. The letter was the third message sent to Gillispie asking for payment.
Huff’s letter reads, in part:
“This letter serves as a third request for the negotiated $50,000 to be submitted to Owyhee County so that the taxpayers are not left paying the bill for all of time and expense invested in this project both since the date of application which was over six months ago, and going forward.”
The Snake River Alliance also claims that Alternate Energy Holdings erected two towers on the site without obtaining the required building permits.
Calls to Owyhee County Planning and Zoning were not returned.
Later in the week, Alternate Energy Holdings issued a press release saying Gillispie would meet with the county Feb. 18 to set up an escrow account to pay the fees.
Gillispie said in a statement that he needs an official invoice for the $50,000, because the company’s “accountants, investors and the Securities and Exchange Commission demand that accountability.”
Alternate Energy Holdings is a publicly traded “penny stock” – what the SEC calls a speculative security.
The press release also stated that Alternate Energy Holdings had already paid the county $7,000 to process an application for a meteorological tower.
Three bills have been introduced during the current Legislative session that would regulate the construction of power plants in Idaho.
Senate Bill 1289 would require voters to approve the construction of any commercial nuclear facility. The vote would be non-binding.
Senate Bill 1314 would create a moratorium on merchant power plants until 2010.
Senate Bill 1293 would create an energy facility-siting panel, made up of representatives of state agencies and local governments, to approve sites for electric generation facilities.
All three bills are sponsored by Senate Democrats and have not yet been given a committee hearing.
Rickards’ initiative overlaps with some of the proposals made in the Senate, but he said he was disappointed with the senators’ efforts.
“It’s just as bad for the Democrats to introduce impotent legislation as it is for the Republicans to do nothing,” he said.
The attorney general’s analysis of Rickards’ initiative may have some impact on the Senate bills.
According to his review, merchant plants are not subject to the public interest need or ratemaking authority of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. The state does not exercise control over the need or cost of power, or the reliability of a merchant plant.
Furthermore, the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 gives the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, not the states, authority over the construction and operation of any electric generating facility and protection against radiation hazards.
That doesn’t sit well with Rickards.
“He pointed out that they could only legislate for economic reasons, not health reasons,” Rickards said. “We’re not legally allowed to protect the health of our families, but we’re allowed to protect our money? If we’re stuck with that nuclear waste, we have expenses. If there is a meltdown and evacuation, we have economic loss.”

Proposed Senate bills

Three bills have been introduced during the current Legislative session that would regulate the construction of power plants in Idaho.

• Senate Bill 1289 would require voters to approve the construction of any commercial nuclear facility. The vote would be non-binding.
• Senate Bill 1314 would create a moratorium on merchant power plants until 2010.
• Senate Bill 1293 would create an energy facility-siting panel, made up of representatives of state agencies and local governments, to approve sites for electric generation facilities.

All three bills are sponsored by Senate Democrats and have not yet been given a committee hearing.