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The nuclear debate shifted into overdrive Thursday night.
A larger-than-expected crowd of citizens packed the Victoria Community Center to learn about the nuclear regulatory process.
By 7 p.m., more than 400 people signed up to attend the first public Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting at the Victoria Community Center. Agency staff used the backs of sign-in sheets and staff broke out more chairs than originally set out.
“This is a tremendous turnout,” agency spokesman Victor Dricks said, adding that this is indicative of the interest in the nuclear issue.
Brian Connally, a 44-year-old trucker from Victoria, was one of the first residents to arrive. He grew up hearing about Three Mile Island and was initially concerned with the issue of nuclear waste.
From reading media reports, he thought truckloads of waste would be transported through the area. But after researching the issue and talking with NRC staff, he doesn’t really consider it that much of an issue anymore, as the actual volume of waste is tiny. A family of four would use enough power in its lifetime that would create waste enough to fill the space of a cigarette lighter, he said.
During the public question portion of the evening, Connally spoke of his support for nuclear power and Exelon Nuclear.
But others didn’t show the same support. Texans for a Sound Energy Policy Alliance passed out paper signs that read “Speak Up Victoria” and about 40 people stood up to show their concern after Karen Hadden from the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development Coalition urged them to stand and be counted. She publicly expressed her concern about the design review of the new Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor coinciding with Exelon’s combined license application.
“The reactor design should be finished before we have this meeting,” Hadden said.
The agency conducts the reviews independently, Dricks said, adding Exelon’s license cannot be approved until the design is approved.
“They do as much as they can while also looking at the reactor certification,” Dricks said. “They do it at their own risk. There’s no guarantee,” he added about Exelon.
Hadden doubted the NRC could be sure of nuclear plant safety when lawsuits document how South Texas Project employees in Matagorda County would get beat down if they tried to do their jobs and inspect the wells, she said. She spoke on behalf of the newly formed Crossroads Concerned Citizens, a group of ranchers, farmers and business owners who oppose Exelon’s proposed nuclear reactors.
Jim Blackburn, attorney for the sound energy alliance, doubled what Hadden said. By conducting these parallel processes, the assumption seems to be the agency would approve the design and he wonders if unintentional bias exists, he said.
“It locks in the potential for approval without full review,” Blackburn said about Exelon’s application.
Blackburn and the alliance’s executive director John Figer also wondered about the water. Exelon “elbowed” its way into the Region L water plan, but San Antonio Bay has no rights yet, Blackburn, from Houston, said. He fears the bay and endangered species like the whooping crane would ultimately suffer.
Bill Jones, Region L water representative, questioned why a finite resource like water would go to a nuclear plant when the growing population is already struggling to find water to drink. Two years ago, the city of Victoria had to stop pulling water from the river because it has junior 1993 rights.
Would Exelon be able to draw water when the city cannot in times of drought? Jones thinks Exelon would have the more senior water rights, although the Port of Victoria would have senior rights over Exelon.
But Bill West, general manager for the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, said that’s not the case. GBRA contracted the most junior water rights to Exelon.
“Exelon will not take water before anyone else,” West said.
The nuclear regulatory agency would also make sure enough water availability exists for the proposed nuclear plant, Dricks said.
Dr. Peter Riesz listened intently to all the discussion. Ever since he heard Exelon was building two reactors in Victoria County, he couldn’t contain his excitement. As a radiologist, he’s trained in the handling, disposal and safety use of radioactive material.
“I only hope my medical colleagues keep me propped up long enough so I can see the moderator rods pulled out of the pile,” Riesz, a 75-year-old who has lived in Victoria since 1970, said. “Oh, yeah, I’d love to see the start of it.”