Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017
Floor Speech
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Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I thank my fellow Great Lakes Member, Representative Schneider, for yielding the time. I also want to thank the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, Congresswoman Lowey, for offering this amendment.
I rise in support of this effort to help communities that are left with radioactive waste after the closure of a nuclear power plant. The Great Lakes region, I might point out, has no energy umbrella like the Bureau of Reclamation for the 17 Western States, or for portions of the South, the Tennessee Valley Authority, that can help communities readjust on a large scale for energy disruptions or changes.
In my district of northern Ohio, the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station is scheduled to be shuttered. We are not waving the white flag just yet, but this community and its people need the tools to cope with the aftermath, should the worst happen.
When nuclear power plants close, the impact on local economies, due to the loss of jobs and tax revenue, will be severe. For years, the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station has provided 700 good jobs and generated $20 million a year in tax revenue for a rural county, called Ottawa County, in which $12.1 million each year goes to its school district. That 900-megawatt power plant does more than produce power. It builds community.
This major financial support could disappear and leave the community and that entire county struggling to support schools, law enforcement, and roads. Therefore, I strongly support this amendment to help these communities adjust, as necessary, to access Federal resources and make a plan for economic revitalization.
I thank Congressman Schneider for offering this commonsense amendment, one that is so vitally necessary, especially across the Great Lakes region, which is so often neglected. I also want to thank Chairman Shimkus and Ranking Member Tonko for their leadership and urge my colleagues to support it.
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