WASHINGTON – As the Department of Energy plans to move forward with the Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus program, Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) looks for clarity in the state’s role in the initiative.
During the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Wednesday hearing, the Utah senator stood firm in believing that the country needs to pursue more nuclear energy with his state wanting to be a first mover in the new resurgence. However, he said important questions need to be answered prior to Utah’s full commitment.
Utah is one of six states that were selected under DOE’s nuclear campus program. Despite the selection, Curtis said that Utah’s participation in it is “exploratory” and wants to ensure that the state’s collaboration with the federal government for the program comes to fruition.
“And I would say, and speaking somewhat on behalf of Utah, realizing that this really rests on the shoulders of our state leaders, we’re interested in this, but we don’t want to get in that position of looking around and saying, ‘Well, now what? Right,’ Curtis said. “We didn’t quite have all these answers before we jumped into this.”
Curtis asked Lake Barrett, chair of the American Nuclear Society’s Waste Policy Task Force, what protections should a state take in negotiating with the campuses, to which Barrett said that the state and private industry needs to be in partnership with each other.
“Well, governors today, I think, are quite savvy in this,” Barrett said. “Clearly, as I think the governor from Wyoming said 30 some years ago, you’re dancing with the 800-pound gorilla here. So, the federal government. So, you need to protect yourself going forward. But there are ways to do that through contractual relationships.”
While Curtis said Utah has shown much interest, he emphasized that safeguards and accountability from the federal government is in place so that states do not get stuck with a scenario where they are left with a “private program that permanently leads this with no jobs, no economic development, and everything else.”