No Lifting of Nuclear Ban in Minnesota
A state law forbids new atomic power plants from being constructed in Minnesota, and some allege that means atomic can ot even be a component of a discourse about the state’s future energy requirements.
An attempt to alter that suffered a blow this week, when members of a House energy commission shot down a bill that would annul the prohibition.
The 9-12 vote followed two days of hearings in which the legislative assembly listened to testimonial from more than two dozen people, including national experts, conservationists, the atomic industry and people who inhabit near Minnesota’s two existing nuclear plants.
While the ban still could be called forth as an amendment on the House floor, like ballots in recent years have been unsuccessful. And as legislative deadlines are approaching, the Senate adaptation of the bill has not yet been scheduled for a commission vote.
Patrons of annulling the prohibition have been diligent to note that no new atomic facilities are being suggested in Minnesota right now, and they say it is not likely a law change would right away result in new atomic proposals. No utilities took the stand at the hearings.
However, many, including environmental groups, have contended that little has changed in the more than 15 years Minnesota has had a law banning new nuclear plants. Nuclear waste storage can still be a problem, and President Barack Obama’s budget calls for annihilating funding for a proposed atomic waste site at Yucca Mountain in Nevada that might have helped states looking for a more lasting place to store the waste.
That means most reactors across the country, including Minnesota’s only two atomic plants near Monticello and Red Wing, will continue storing waste on site. Residents and environmentalists are already concerned about that option for the plants, which are both near the Mississippi River.
United States. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has said the administration will look to possible options to Yucca Mountain, but one expert who testified before Minnesota lawmakers said finding a safe place to store nuclear waste is always a challenge.
Even if Minnesota were to lift its moratorium, lawmakers on both sides of the issue have acknowledged it would take anywhere from 12 to 14 years and perhaps longer for a nuclear plant to come online in the state.
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