Nuclear Reactors in Utah?

The State Legislature is considering rewriting state law to make it easier to develop nuclear power in Utah without first studying the issue or considering alternatives.

Sign our petition and help us send a clear message to our legislators that Utahns will not shoulder the risks of nuclear power in our state before we consider the consequences and the alternatives.

The legislation being drafted would rewrite Utah’s energy rules to tilt the playing field in favor of nuclear power over any other alternative. It would also eliminate competitive bidding processes designed to protect consumers and shift the financial burden of such a massive and risky investment onto Utah ratepayers.

That means a utility could pull the plug at any time on a nuclear construction project and Utahns would still have to foot the bill, even if the project didn’t produce a single watt of electricity.

Legislators are pushing nuclear power even though the State’s own energy policy working group deemed it a low priority when studying the issue in 2006.

When asked why the committee was seeking to adopt nuclear energy legislation anyway, Rep. Barrus (R-Centerville) replied that the working group’s recommendations were made at a time when nuclear power was “too delicate to discuss” and so “we left it unsaid, is what we did.”

Like the rest of the nation, Utah needs to develop energy resources that meet demand, keep our economy going, and preserve our environment.

But unlike the rest of the nation, Utah stands in the crosshairs of a nuclear industry that has for decades exacted a heavy toll on our health and land, extracting uranium from our soils only to have it returned to us as radioactive fallout and waste.

And so we should be extra cautious when considering nuclear policy in our state, especially when we possess such bountiful potential energy resources--like wind, solar, and increasing energy efficiency--that are more economical, have the support of over 90% of Utahns,1 and preserve our health and environment.

While we’ve worked diligently to take the bull’s-eye of the nuclear industry off our backs, the Legislature’s actions could tattoo it there for good.

We need your support right now to keep this from happening so we can bring real energy solutions to the table.

1“Utahns back alternative fuels,” Deseret News, July 21, 2007.