Pueblo County commissioners nix idea of nuclear power plant

PUEBLO – Pueblo County commissioners unanimously rejected a proposal by an attorney to build a nuclear power plant here that  would have been about 60 miles from Colorado Springs.

The board voted 3-0 to deny Don Banner’s rezoning request. He did not have a company lined up, but had hoped their affirmation would have led to interest from a utility or energy company ready to shoulder the work of getting federal licensing and building the plant.

But there was massive and vocal opposition — one commissioner said 95 percent of comments received were against the plan — that grew louder as the nuclear crisis in Japan unfolded as hearings were held last month. Hundreds attended those hearings, and more than a thousand more submitted written comments.

“At some place, at some time, I think nuclear is an appropriate option. But I don’t think it’s this place and I don’t think it’s this time,” said Commissioner Jeff Chostner.

Commissioners questioned where the mass quantity of water would come from, how a plant would fit into the surrounding rural area, how emergency services would be impacted and, the subject that has plagued the nuclear industry for decades, what would happen with the spent fuel rods, now stored indefinitely in pools?

“What do we do with the spent fuel rods? Right now we just store them forever. The government has talked about eventually they might do something, but I don’t think we can wait until they decide,” said Commissioner John Cordova.

After the vote, Banner shook the commissioners’ hands and said he accepted the decision.

He will not appeal.

“It’s the decision they made. I’m willing to live with it and move on from there,” he said. He said he has been approached by another Colorado community, which he did not name, about building a plant, but has not decided if he will move forward.

The significant opposition, he said, may have been because people got “stirred up” as a result of events in Japan, and what he saw as alarmist media coverage. He remains convinced nuclear power is safe.

Anita Minton, wearing a sash saying “down the yellow cake road,” is not.

“The last thing I want is a nuclear plant, because of the billions and billions of gallons of water it would take,” said a jubilant Minton. “I was hoping for this but holding my breath.”

Ross Vincent, chair of the Sangre de Cristo Group of the Sierra Club, came to the meeting with two news releases. He was happy to give reporters the one that applauded the decision.

“I’m really pleased with the commissioners’ decision. I’m really proud of the people in the county who spoke up and let them know how much we care about the future of the community,” he said.

He agreed Japan’s problems may have caused more people in southern Colorado to pay attention to Banner’s proposal, but he said people were against it from the beginning.

“I know there were a lot of people, in particular, leadership-type people, who had begun to organize before the crisis in Japan,” he said.