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State Representative Joe Atkins
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4192
For more information contact: Michael Howard 651-296-8873
Press/News Releases
DFL’ers to Propose Major Changes to “Reckless” Nuke Bill Today
Proposed Changes Would Ensure Safety and Citizen Input
Describing the Republican bill to lift the moratorium on additional nuclear plants as “reckless and rushed," DFL members of the House Commerce Committee will offer up major changes today in an effort to enhance public safety and ensure public input. The hearing will take place at 2:30 p.m. in the Basement Hearing Room of the State Office Building.
“Some of us support lifting the ban, some don’t,” said State Rep. Joe Atkins, DFL Lead on the Commerce Committee, “But we all favor making sure new nuclear plants are constructed and operated safely, that there’s public input and local control, and that ratepayers are protected from outrageous cost overruns like the ones that have occurred around the country.”
The bill – HF9 – is expected to make its final committee stop in the House today in the Commerce Committee, before heading to the floor for full vote of the House. The measure has already passed the Senate. Debates of the bill have been rushed through the process, with one hearing taking only 36 minutes.
“It is more important to do this right than to do it fast,” said Atkins.
Democrats will propose the following changes to HF8 today:
1) LOCAL REFERENDUM: Local residents living in communities near a proposed nuclear plant or nuclear waste storage facility would be given an opportunity to vote on whether to allow construction.
2) SAFETY: Anyone injured or killed by the negligent operation of a new nuclear plant or waste storage facility would have the right to seek damages for their injuries, medical bills, wage loss, and funeral expenses from the negligent party. The current bill does not enable those injured or killed – or their families – to be compensated from the at-fault party."
3) PROTECTION FROM COST OVERRUNS: Ratepayers would not be responsible for cost overruns in excess of 200% of the estimated cost of a new nuclear power plant. Other plants across the country have experienced enormous cost overruns, and ratepayers have been stuck with the tab.
4) NUCLEAR WASTE STORAGE: No payments would be made to the federal government’s Nuclear Waste Fund until a permanent national repository for nuclear waste is opened and operating. Minnesotans have already paid in over $600 million to the NWF, an average of $575 per ratepayer, even though the federal government recently abandoned plans to open a permanent repository. The federal government promised in 1982 that a federal storage facility would be operating by 1998. The current bill requires Minnesotans to continue to pay into the NWF.
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Rep. Joe Atkins can be reached by phone at (651) 296-4192 or by email at rep.joe.atkins@house.mn.
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