Landowners want answers
Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting to be held to discuss plant
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When Janice Hill thinks about nuclear energy, she considers her children and grandchildren.
The Victoria County landowner hasn’t been satisfied with answers about where nuclear waste will go, but she plans to go to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting to ask some hard questions.
“I think there are other alternatives that will be safer for the generations to come,” she said, thinking about her land five miles north of the proposed Exelon nuclear power plant site in McFaddin.
The public should stand up and ask questions, John Figer, executive director of Texans for a Sound Energy Policy Alliance said. He welcomes debate.
Figer and landowners, who fear their property would be seized or changed, prompted a discussion about the nuclear project with city leaders Thursday afternoon in a meeting room at the McKenzie Law Firm on Main Street.
Cyrus Reed and Donna Hoffman from the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club visited Victoria for a Lion’s Club meeting, but stopped by the law firm because more residents expressed an interest in their views on nuclear power.
Reed, conservation director, encouraged participation for the Aug. 7 Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting and discussed the licensing process and the points at where residents could voice concerns about nuclear power.
The Sierra Club is opposed to nuclear power, favoring renewable energy and efficiency.
Exelon also invites the public to attend the meeting at the Victoria Community Center to see how the process works and to ask questions, Craig Nesbit, vice president of communications, said. Nuclear should be part of the state’s energy future along with solar, wind and coal, he said.
“There’s a place for everything,” Nesbit said. “You have to have electricity. You have to have baseload power.”
Every megawatt of renewable energy in the grid needs to be backed by baseload power, he said.
Figer and attorney Sandra McKenzie questioned the economic benefit of the plant for Victoria.
The Victoria Economic Development Corp. studied job count increases, which could benefit the area two to three times over in a multiplier effect, vice president of marketing Adrian Cannady responded.
Hill asked why Victoria couldn’t go after other industries.
The VEDC would love to grow the area economy, even with the possibility of solar manufacturing, Cannady said. He said the goal is to increase job opportunity and the tax base.
The Alliance isn’t opposed to nuclear power, but is against the proposed site in McFaddin, Figer said. He would like to see the plant built near the South Texas Project in Matagorda County where Exelon would already have all the infrastructure to connect to the grid.
Landowners need to think about transmission lines on their property, he said. He already opposed a heavy haul road proposed to be built through the Paradise Ranch properties.
When Exelon provided a heavy haul road license agreement, he wasn’t happy to see papers explaining condemnation attached. He worried land would be seized from the owners.
“That’s the first thing that raised my red flag,” Figer said. “This isn’t my first rodeo.”
Hill said her fears were heightened when she received a citation to allow the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority on her property to study land for a proposed pipeline from the Coleto Creek Reservoir to the proposed nuclear site.
GBRA contracted 75,000 acre-feet of water to Exelon and handles its water issues.
“I did not want them on my property,” Hill said, but admits she ignored phone calls.
GBRA needed to conduct an environmental assessment to examine any archeological or environmental issues along the route, GBRA general manager Bill West said.
“That’s the law,” he added.
If built, the pipeline would be buried and GBRA would need to obtain land easements to finish the project.
Nesbit said he understands the concerns of landowners with this project. He knows the plant would need a heavy haul road, transmission lines and infrastructure, but he said it’s not any different from any other kind of power plant. The company decided against building at the STP site because the subsoil was too deep and the expense to fix it changed the cost structure of the project, he said.
He encouraged residents with concerns to stop by the Exelon office at 114 Main St.
Tara Bozick is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6504 or tbozick@vicad.com.
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Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting
Aug. 7
6 to 9:30 p.m.
Victoria Community Center 2905 E. North St.
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Regarding the school taxes this PROPOSED Excelon plant will be paying will be going to REFUGIO CO. since McFaddin is in the Refugio school district. Is this correct?
July 27, 2008 at 6:43 p.m.Not in anyone's backyard, dear, not even yours. And your source citations are still not there.
July 27, 2008 at 5:41 p.m.build it!!!! Kenneth!! wow.
the owners need in good faith to pay some taxes in advance. this would be good P.R.
heck the whoopers may stop by for a water break...
July 27, 2008 at 5 p.m.Kenneth, looks like someone's term paper. Where are the reference source citations? All I read is one very long paragraph.
BTW, "Mamma Mia" was tremendous!
July 27, 2008 at 4:41 p.m.WOW Kenneth that was one.... long... proof statement... I gather you got everything covered.... I am hoping...hehehe
July 27, 2008 at 3:20 p.m.but if the people from Victoria donot want the plant here.... those people can always send it to Algeria or Nigeria or Australia and run it for a lesser price .. and you guys can go work over there and bring the money back... but isn't that what people have been screaming about too...that all the work is overseas and that our economy is going to the peritos......because who was the one that did that .. His name starts with a D and his last name with a Ch... and oh he's made lots of money doing it..
Oh and by the way.. I was told to hold on to my property by a very good source.. that he heard it.... in Washington DC over dinner that Victoria was about to do very well in the homeowners market(who would even mention Victoria Texas in DC )...and he called his mother that has been wanting to sell her property because she doesnt want to take care of it anymore and told her DONOT sell it yet wait.......because .. it could sale at a very good price ..because there are very limited places to rent and homes to sell .. and ..if you want to move away to another place ..like me to Austin Texas or somewhere in the outskirts like.... The BeeCaves.. I could sell my house or rent it for a substancial amount because people will be coming in to work at the new plant..and will be looking for a place to LIVE hehehhe...like engineers with wives and children ....hint... hint with $$$$... so if you have money and can purchase property a suggestion go buy...and rent them out..
July 27, 2008 at 2:55 p.m.1. No, I have not met Bill Scott of Exelon, but I hope to at the NRCs first scoping meeting on August 7th, 6-9:30pm at the Victoria Community Center.
2. Kenneth, as usual, you picked out the parts of the report you liked and failed to see the bigger picture, which is that the nuclear industry as a whole is open to sabotage, expensive to secure and creates nasty waste. Also, the ESBWR reactor planned for Victoria is not the reactor the scientists recommended. Please go back and re-read the report.
Of all the new reactor designs being seriously considered
for deployment in the United States, only
onethe Evolutionary Power Reactorappears
to have the potential to be significantly safer and
more secure than todays reactors. To eliminate
any financial incentives for reactor vendors to
reduce safety margins, and to make safer reactors
competitive in the United States, the NRC should
require new U.S. reactors to be significantly safer
than current reactors.
3. The very thing that powers nuclear plants, uranium, is mined by a process which has a huge capacity to pollute our water; the very idea should appall you. I know you are all about keeping our water safe, clean and abundant, so I really dont understand how you can be on the side of nuclear. Trading a reduction in CO2 emissions for radioactive waste is not an option for me. Nor am I willing to take a higher paying job if it jeopardizes the future of this planet. I shall continue to work two jobs to pay my bills and keep my conscience clear and my ethics intact.
More later on the other thread about nuclear waste, vitrification, etc. Im going to the movies.
July 27, 2008 at 1:47 p.m.I disagree with Texas Huckleberry comparing a nuclear plant to a chemical plant, there is a big difference dealing with this nuclear plant waste. This is not the same, it is like comparing apples and oranges there is a difference.
July 26, 2008 at 9:52 p.m.Thank you and you are very welcome.. Kenneth.. for the most part ..as the teenagers say it... "I Got your back".... heehheee...
July 26, 2008 at 8:13 p.m.Bring It!!! We need it.. more money to our area ...and it could change and surely help our economy here and in the surrounding areas..My thing is that people hate change and and if they are unfamiliar with it ... it is worse.. just like when Dupont showed up.. Alcoa .. Formosa ... and Bp ...and back then Union Carbide...now Dow... those guys make stuff that is hazardess to our health.. and they are still here...for some part... oh and like the prisons...nearby..nobody wanted them.. but they got built anyway..its like a wheel of history over and over and over again..and down the road it will be something else..
July 26, 2008 at 7:43 p.m.build it!
July 26, 2008 at 7:09 p.m.Fuzzy Math
Kenneth, do you honestly think Bill Scott of Exelon cares if the GBRA destroys the Guadalupe? As long as the nuke plant gets its water Exelon cant be bothered that we have nothing left to drink, water our crops, freshen the wetlands, etc. They are part of a multi-billion dollar international corporation. Money is their God; their guise is touting nuclear power as the savior of America.
Answer me this. What happens if say the nuke plant comes and, God forbid, we get LGWSP too? What guarantee of an adequate supply of water do the citizens of Victoria have? You can't let a nuclear plant run dry and create a disaster. Will the LGWSP just pinch the giant straw shut so you and I can have a sip or do we just go thirsty? Whos got first dibs on the water is what I want to know. Whos second in line? Are we sucking hind teat? I dont think theres enough water to go around. The two projects require 135,000 acre feet of river water per year and GBRA only has available rights to about 95,000 a/f a year through 2060 when the population of Texas is projected to have doubled. Do the math.
July 25, 2008 at 10:55 p.m.Someone just entered the den of rattlesnakes known as Kenneth Schustereit. You should really be more careful. There are 3 things I will never believe about Ken.
July 25, 2008 at 1:11 p.m.1. That he will ever sell out.
2. That he will ever have the wool pulled over his eyes.
3. That he will ever be intimidated.
You really should just go ahead and apologize now.
Kenneth...you said...I'd say the real danger here isn't Exelon, it is GBRA!
Hey friend, WAKE UP!!! They are both a REAL DANGER! Also, you "expect" the technology already being used to recycle spent nuclear fuel to improve. Well, listen up buddy...it isnt being used in this country and it's not likely to be any time soon. And if you have a degree in Nuclear Engineering that I dont know about, please, please .I say PLEASE, share your knowledge with us. Pray tell, what is this new, improved technology? And when did the NRC and congress approve the use of it?
When are you going to get it that that flea you call Exelon is riding that bear we know as GBRA? If they were more in alignment with each other we'd call it a partnership. If you are in favor of the nuke plant, you are in bed with GBRA! YIKES!!
And another thing, not that he needs defending, but...why all the ranting about John Figer? Why do you keep alluding to his ownership of property in Paradise Ranch like it's some kind of stigma, as if trying to protect his property and those of his neighbors and the citizens of Victoria County, Texas, me and the world, is a bad thing? He has a job as director of Texans for a Sound Energy Alliance http://www.speakupvictoria.com/ and he's working at it, so I guess he doesn't have time to respond to you on these forums, but I expect everyone will be hearing from the big dog quite mightily and very soon.
Have a nice weekend.
July 25, 2008 at 12:46 p.m.Nesbit said he understands the concerns of landowners ..but he said its not any different from any other kind of power plant.
Oh really? Except for the FACT that its byproduct is radioactive waste than is toxic for thousands of years and the FACT that its going to be stored onsite FOREVER.
BIGJ said .He and I know who is behind GRBA, the nuclear issue, Goliad water issue, and the lobbyist groups.
Okay, so give it up WHO is it?
I venture to say it is our big-city neighbors to the north, and the giant sucking sound we all anticipate from them is not going away just because a nuke plant is built. Then wed have two giants monopolizing our water not good. If you think you can trade one for the other and the plant is the least greedy, think again.
July 25, 2008 at 7:36 a.m.He's afraid you'll run against him.
July 25, 2008 at 1:14 a.m.ROTFLMAO!!