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Ranch owners won’t let Exelon survey their property.

The Paradise Ranch Landowners Association voted unanimously not to enter into an agreement with Exelon, a nuclear energy company, during a special meeting on April 27, president John Figer said Tuesday.

Exelon hoped to conduct a 90-day feasibility study on Paradise Ranch to see if a heavy haul road from the barge canal to the proposed nuclear plant site in McFaddin would be viable. If the proposed route was feasible, Exelon would want to purchase an easement to use the 200-foot-wide road.

“We felt like if we allowed them to do a feasibility study we would be showing we were in support of the project as a whole,” Figer said. “The majority is not in favor.”

In the association’s news release, landowners said they were “adamantly against the construction and operation of a nuclear generating plant next to the Paradise Ranch.”

Landowners felt that a heavy haul road would destroy wetlands and wildlife, which are important to residents who hunt, Figer said.

Residents feel that the construction of the proposed nuclear plant next to Paradise Ranch would hurt property values and disrupt the ranch way of life, Figer said. Landowners would prefer to be bought out entirely rather than be affected by a nearby plant or heavy haul road.

“This is our home,” Figer said. “This is where we planned on retiring.”

The refusal for the Paradise Ranch landowners to enter the proposed agreement won’t stop a project of this size from coming to fruition, said Craig Nesbit, vice president of communications for Exelon.

“We’ll figure something out,” Nesbit said.

Tara Bozick is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6504 or tbozick@vicad.com.