Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act.

Next to me is a picture of Haddam Neck, Connecticut, which is a pristine part of the State where the Connecticut River and the Salmon River come together. Where the circle is on the photograph, there are 43 casks of spent nuclear power uranium rods that, again, today, pretty much cordon off that whole area. If you drove up in a car, you would be met by a platoon of heavily armed security guards who, for good reason, have to patrol that area every single day because of the dangerous material that is stored there. That has been the case for over 20 years.

It costs Connecticut ratepayers $10 million a year, again, for a site that should be long overdue for renovation and access to folks from all over the world because of its rich archeological and historical area.

This bill provides a way out for this area, along with 120 other sites across the country, where host communities have been saddled with storage of spent nuclear fuel because of the fact that this country has been unable to come together with a coherent policy. This bill provides a way out.

Mr. Chair, I congratulate the proponents on both sides of the aisle for getting us to that place.

Waterford, Connecticut, is also home to Dominion, a nuclear power plant with a similar situation that, again, is long overdue for change.

I also just want to note, as the Representative from Groton, Connecticut, the home of the nuclear Navy--it was where the Nautilus was first launched in 1956--we have, as a country, been transporting spent nuclear fuel for aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines for decades by land and by sea safely and efficiently, and the notion that we can't do this for our civilian nuclear power facilities is, frankly, just demonstrably untrue.

We can do this, and this bill provides, as I say, a mechanism for an interim storage that is sensible, that is logical, and is bipartisan. Again, I congratulate the proponents and strongly urge a ``yes'' vote on this measure later this morning.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source