• Rubi Reyes •
• Originally published January 16, 2009 at 6:44 p.m., updated January 16, 2009 at 6:44 p.m.

In his guest column "Prophets of 'Boom' should learn about clean energy sources," Walter Hranitzky paints the rosiest of pictures for a nuclear facility in Victoria County.

As one might expect, he dutifully checks off every glowing talking point provided by the nuclear industry. But, in attempting to address many of the issues commonly debated nationally, he forgets to talk about some of the huge issues locally.

First and foremost, why must a nuclear reactor be built in Victoria County at all? Why build a water hungry nuclear facility in a region of the state where we are in extreme drought and water resources will continue to be limited.

In a deal with the Guadalupe/Blanco River Authority, Exelon Nuclear has already reserved more than 24 million gallons of water annually from the Guadalupe River for the proposed plant.

That's more than seven times the amount of water the entire city of Victoria uses every year. If there are to be any economic benefits from a local nuclear facility, they come at a steep price, that is, potentially sacrificing the water resources for our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

To paraphrase Mr. Hranitzky's words, will the big money to be made by Exelon Nuclear and others prove to be profits of doom? Finally, he neglects to address why we taxpayers should put our money on the line to subsidize multi-billion dollar corporations that want to build these reactors.

Big energy companies say they won't build without the free federal money guarantees. Interestingly, Exelon Nuclear has already modified its application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission after discovering the new technology they have been touting here in Victoria suddenly puts that free taxpayer money at risk.

If this is indeed the cleanest energy path (as well as an extremely profitable one for companies like Exelon), why must we put our tax dollars on the line. All of us should keep in mind that if/when the latest industry-driven nuclear construction fad withers, we will be the ones holding the bag as a federal bailout parachute is already built and appears ready to deploy.

The local debate is not strictly about safety (though we should have answers to those questions as well), environmental impacts or nuclear waste (issues which also have been unaddressed ). It's about the decisions of a profit company using our tax money to build a nuclear facility that monopolizes our water resources for generations to come.

That, Mr. Hranitzky, is what's wrong, wrong, wrong. That's what has many of us in Victoria County and across the region worried. As a result, we are still seeking answers.

John Figer is a member of Texans for a Sound Energy Policy Alliance.

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