Against The Ropes, California Nuclear Power Proponents Put Up Their Nukes In New Fights

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Gary A. Patton
Executive Director
Planning and Conservation League

It's proving to be a bumpy year for opponents of nuclear waste and public taxpayer boondoggles. Here's our latest scoop.

First the good news: It appears that a proposed pro-nuclear power initiative, sponsored by Assemblymember Chuck DeVore, and opposed by PCL, is not going to make it to the California ballot. Momentum seems to have died for the DeVore initiative, which would have eliminated the "nuclear safeguards" that currently protect California residents.

Now the bad: Nuclear power advocates aren't giving up the fight. They're just "putting up their nukes" in a different arena. On September 26th, Assemblymember DeVore introduced ABX2 5 into the current Special Session on water policy, to permit the construction of a new nuclear power plant if twenty percent of the power is used for desalination facilities. We predict that this bill is going nowhere, just like the proposed initiative.

Here's the ugly: At the federal level there's a more threatening move to authorize massive new financial subsidies for the nuclear power industry. Provisions to accomplish this, with a price tag of about $30 billion dollars of taxpayer-financed loan guarantees, are seriously being considered as part of a comprehensive federal energy bill. "Provision 423" is the proposal that would undermine the integrity of what would otherwise be a terrific energy package.

Please alert both Senator Boxer and Senator Feinstein that you strongly oppose the proposals to add taxpayer subsidies for nuclear power to the energy bill that the Congress is now considering.

Gary Patton is the Executive Director of the Planning and Conservation League, a statewide, nonprofit lobbying organization. For more than thirty years, PCL has fought to develop a body of environmental laws in California that is the best in the United States. PCL staff review virtually every environmental bill that comes before the California Legislature each year. It has testified in support or opposition of thousands of bills to strengthen California's environmental laws and fight off rollbacks of environmental protections.