[NukeNet] QUESTIONS RE: [no-new-nukes-yall] Nuclear energy moratorium likely to hold fast in Illinois House
Dave Kraft
neis at neis.org
Thu May 22 11:43:32 EDT 2008
Hi Mark --
Here is the Amendment 1 to the Public Utilities Act for HB2971:
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09500HB2971ham001&GA=95&SessionId=51&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=31831&DocNum=2971&GAID=9&Session=
The proposed excised text is the Moratorium; and is the gist of the
Amendment. So far that is. There are 6-7 days left in this session.
The original provision was enacted in 1987, and dealt exclusively with
high-level radwaste disposal. It came after the successful enactment of
the California moratorium. It has not been challenged in Illinois. And
actually the granting of the CA moratirum and its successful upholding
at the Supreme Court level was what inspired IL -- and at least 15 or so
other states -- to enact other moratoria along the same lines. The
basis for upholding the CA moratorium was that the Supreme Court ruled
that it was the jurisdiction of the STATES -- not the FEDS -- to set
utility rates; and the CA folks hitched knowledge of waste disposal
(costs) to setting proper utility rates. Since they could not calculate
accurately the waste costs absent a disposal method, they were allowed
to enact a moratorium.
Now that we are in a de/re-regulated utility market, I really wonder if
this would be upheld again if challenged. Not all states are in such a
system though. those whose PUCs and Commerce Commissions still set the
rates are okay; the de-reged ones may not be, since the "market" sets rates.
I have long been concerned with the Illinois' moratorium's
weasel-wordiness of 1.) what constituted a "approved or demonstrable
technology or means of disposal of high level radioactive wastes."
Meaning that 2.) I do not trust that the director of IEPA or the
legislature would necessarily require a physical facility in operation;
and would simply settle for linguistic detoxification based on someone's
word at DOE that they had such a technology in the pipeline. Such is
the influence of Exelon when the chips are down and they get backed into
a corner.
However, up until now the statute has stood the test of time.
I do not know if other states are attempting to enact new moratoria; but
it is clear that pro-nukers everywhere are challenging the iold ones (CA
and WI beat the challenge back recently).
You can see our factsheets and alerts on our website at www.neis.org.
They and other links are right on the homepage.
I hope this helps you out. Contact us if you need anything else.
Stay well.
--Dave Kraft--
Mark Haim wrote:
>NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet at energyjustice.net)
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Hello friends,
>
> Is there anyone who has ready access to the language of the Illinois
> moratorium law? If so, could this be posted to this list?
>
> Likewise, does anyone know the gist, in lay language, of the
> moratorium (i.e. does it establish certain thresholds, like an
> operating waste repository being in place, before a new nuke can be
> built? does it require no new nukes on economic grounds, as opposed to
> environmental or health and safety grounds, etc.)?
>
> Finally, does anyone know if this law has ever been challenged in
> court, if the issue of Federal preemption has been raised, or if any
> other states are working on trying to pass similar laws?
>
> Thanks,
> Mark Haim
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: no-new-nukes-yall at yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:no-new-nukes-yall at yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of Joy Ezell
> Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2008 5:29 AM
> To: no-new-nukes-yall
> Subject: [no-new-nukes-yall] Nuclear energy moratorium likely to hold
> fast in Illinois House
>
> http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=89857
> <http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=89857>
>
>
> Nuclear energy moratorium likely to hold fast in Illinois House
>
>
> by Phil Taylor
> <http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=66905>
>
> May 21, 2008
>
> State legislators have stalled an amendment to lift Illinois'
> 21-year-old state moratorium on new nuclear power plants, raising old
> concerns over the safe storage of nuclear wastes.
> "Some of our members thought we were moving too fast, and I don't have
> a problem with that," said amendment sponsor Rep. JoAnn Osmond
> (R-Antioch).
> State budgetary matters have kept legislators occupied in recent
> weeks, and it appears unlikely the amendment to l ift the ban will
> come up for a vote before the legislative session closes at the end of
> May.
> Osmond's amendment to the Public Utilities Act of 1987 passed the
> Public Utilities Committee by a 10-2 vote on April 2 after a short debate.
> The amendment has 35 co-sponsors, but is opposed by House Speaker
> Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), according to his press secretary Steve Brown.
> "Speaker Madigan wanted to have further discussions about it," Osmond
> said. "I'm hoping if we don't get it done by deadline he'll extend it
> to veto session," meaning next fall.
> Environmental groups opposed to nuclear power expansion in Illinois
> are confident the amendment will not receive a vote this session.
> "The bill is being sponsored by a House Republican" in an election
> year, said Barry Matchett, co-legislative director at the
> Chicago-based Environmental Law and Policy Center. "It's not clear
> how much room the speaker will give her to talk about this bill."
> The bill still needs a third reading. Illinois' constitution requires
> that a bill be read a third time on the House floor before its sponsor
> can call for a vote.
> If the bill doesn't come up for a vote this month, Matchett said it is
> unlikely an amendment of this type will be considered during the fall
> legislative session, typically devoted to appropriations.
> "This is a big policy question, and it doesn't meet the standard of
> bills that are considered in the fall," he said.
> Illinois' last nuclear reactor went online in 1988, the Exelon nuclear
> power plant at Braidwood, said company spokeswoman Krista Lopykinski.
> Exelon operates all 11 of the nuclear reactors in Illinois, which
> provide about 45 percent of the state's electricity.
> Illinois produces more nuclear power than any other state in the country.
> Proponents of nuclear argue that it is a clean alternative to
> conventional fossil-fuel energy sources such as coal, oil and natural
> gas. Nuclear power plants emit no greenhouse gases and have low
> operating costs.
> But increased demand for nuclear reactor parts has caused a sharp
> increase in construction costs, which now run anywhere from an
> estimated $3-9 billion.
> "Even with the new nuclear reactors that are being built
> internationally, the cost overruns are staggering and they're behind
> schedule," said David Kraft, director of the Nuclear Energy
> Information Service, the nuclear watchdog group in Chicago.
> "They're experiencing two unanticipated things, which are critical: a
> shortage of material of the type you need and a shortage of the kind
> of work force you need to do the work," he said.
> New nuclear power plant designs on the market all include passive
> safety mechanisms that activate independently of human operators.
> Examples of passive safety controls include cooling water tanks above
> the reactor core that automatically empty in case of overheating. In
> these reactors, temperature and gravity triggers the release of water
> rather than reliance on plant operators.
> However, if the Illinois amendment isn't passed, new nuclear reactors
> cannot be built without a "demonstrable technology" to safely store
> the radioactive wastes.
> So far, no such technology exists, and a federal repository at
> Nevada's Yucca Mountain will not be available until at least 2017,
> according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
> Still, utilities are expected to build 34 new reactors in the United
> States as energy demand increases by an expected 30 percent by 2030,
> said Dennis Spurgeon, assistant secretary for nuclear energy at the
> Department of Energy. He made the remarks at a recent nuclear energy
> conference.
> Already, nine operating license applications have been submitted to
> the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission for approval.
> Exelon applied for and was issued an early-site permit for Clinton,
> which would clear the federal regulatory path for construction of a
> new nuclear reactor in Illinois.
> "We don't have any plans to build new plants in Illinois," Lopykinski
> said. She said Exelon obtained the permit to expedite building of a
> new reactor in case of future need.
> __._,_.___
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--
David A. Kraft, Director
Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS)
Mail & Street Address:
3411 W. Diversey, Ste. 16
Chicago, IL 60647 USA
(773)342-7650; -7655 fax
neis at neis.org
www.neis.org
SKYPE: davekhamburg
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