WV State Senate Bill Reversing Ban on Nuclear Plant Construction Headed to Full Chamber
A bill advancing through West Virginia’s state legislature would walk back an existing ban on new nuclear power plants in the Mountain State.
Senate Bill (SB) 4, which passed the state Senate’s economic development committee on a voice vote Wednesday, would roll back the state’s 1996 state code amendment deeming nuclear power “an undue hazard” to West Virginians, “especially until there is an effective method to safely and permanently dispose of the radioactive wastes generated thereby.”
SB 4 should get a second reading during a full session of the state Senate. At deadline Friday for RadWaste Monitor the bill had yet to be scheduled for debate.
As his home state weighs lifting its 30-year ban on nuclear power, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) has been advocating for the national nuclear fleet on Capitol Hill. Manchin in April pushed the Joe Biden administration to take action to assist financially-troubled nuclear power plants. The White House’s answer came in the form of its November infrastructure package, which included roughly $6 billion in tax credits for plant operators.
Dana Point is Latest Cali Community to Join SONGS Spent Fuel Policy Group
Another California coastal town this week threw its weight behind a utility-led special interest group looking to push the federal government towards a nuclear waste storage solution that would get stranded spent fuel off the Golden State’s coastline.
The city council for Dana Point, Calif., voted unanimously Wednesday to support Southern California Edison’s (SCE) Action for Spent Fuel Solutions Now, citing it as a solution for the spent fuel currently stuck at nearby San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), according to the Dana Point Times. Dana Point, a city of around 34,000, is located just a couple of miles north of the shuttered nuclear power plant, currently being decommissioned by SCE.
Action for Spent Fuel Solutions Now, formed by SCE in March, is aimed at lobbying Washington to establish a nuclear waste repository for the nation’s spent fuel inventory — 125 canisters of which are currently stuck on a dry storage pad at SONGS.
Since its formation, several local communities and stakeholders have signed on to the lobbying group. San Diego in August voted to join the effort, saying that it would spend up to $100,000 on a contractor to manage its participation. The city of San Clemente, Orange County and San Diego Gas & Electric are also members of the coalition.
Meanwhile, the feds are exploring their options for a future interim storage facility. The Department of Energy this week said that it would establish a competitive funding award sometime this year for potential host communities to look into interim storage, although details on that program are scarce for now. DOE is also taking public input on how it should conduct an interim storage siting inquiry — the agency is accepting comments until March 4.
