Current Status Introducing Body:House Bill Number:5157 Primary Sponsor:Keyserling Type of Legislation:HR Subject:Nuclear Waste, Savannah River Site Date Bill Passed both Bodies:19940426 Computer Document Number:GJK/20842AC.94 Introduced Date:19940426 Last History Body:House Last History Date:19940426 Last History Type:Introduced, adopted Scope of Legislation:Statewide All Sponsors:Keyserling Richardson Type of Legislation:House Resolution
Bill Body Date Action Description CMN Leg Involved ____ ______ ____________ ______________________________ ___ ____________ 5157 House 19940426 Introduced, adoptedView additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.
TO COMMEND GOVERNOR CAMPBELL, SENATOR THURMOND, AND SENATOR HOLLINGS FOR TAKING A STRONG STANCE AGAINST SOUTH CAROLINA BECOMING THE WORLD'S NUCLEAR DUMPING GROUND AND TO EXPRESS ITS EXTREME DISAPPOINTMENT AND DISMAY THAT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY HAVE ADOPTED A POLICY OF SENDING INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR WASTE TO THE SAVANNAH RIVER SITE, RATHER THAN A SITE THAT IS SUPERIOR IN TERMS OF EQUITY, FAIRNESS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISK.
Whereas, the President of the United States and the United States Department of Energy propose to make the Savannah River Site the repository for large amounts of high-level nuclear waste generated in foreign countries throughout the world; and
Whereas, the House of Representatives has previously gone on record opposing monitored retrievable storage of the nation's high-level nuclear waste at the Savannah River Site; and
Whereas, the chemical separation process conducted at the Savannah River Site to extract uranium and plutonium from irradiated reactor fuel and targets, which began forty years ago, has already resulted in the storage of thirty-three million gallons of highly radioactive liquid waste in South Carolina which originally was to remain in South Carolina for only ten years; and
Whereas, South Carolina has already absorbed far more than its fair share of the nation's nuclear waste; and
Whereas, there are many sites in the western United States that are far less environmentally sensitive than the Savannah River basin; and
Whereas, the biggest private investment in South Carolina's history will be the construction of a retirement community downstream of the Savannah River Site and dependent on the purity of the Savannah River for its drinking water supply; and
Whereas, designation as the world's nuclear dumping ground will harm the state's ability to attract tourists, retirees, and new business and industry; and
Whereas, the federal government has already caused the State of South Carolina to suffer economically by assigning the State a disproportionate amount of defense-related cutbacks. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the House of Representatives of the State of South Carolina commends Governor Campbell, Senator Thurmond, and Senator Hollings for taking a strong stance against South Carolina becoming the world's nuclear dumping ground and expresses its extreme disappointment and dismay that the President of the United States and the United States Department of Energy have adopted a policy of sending international nuclear waste to the Savannah River Site, rather than a site that is superior in terms of equity, fairness, and environmental risk.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to Governor Campbell, Senator Thurmond, Senator Hollings, the President, and the Secretary of the Department of Energy.