Current Status Bill Number:3497 Type of Legislation:Concurrent Resolution CR Introducing Body:House Introduced Date:19950207 Primary Sponsor:Keyserling All Sponsors:Keyserling and Richardson Drafted Document Number:BBM\9850JM.95 Residing Body:House Current Committee:Invitations and Memorial Resolutions Committee 24 HIMR Subject:Foreign reactor spent fuel
Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved ______ ________ _______________________________________ _______ ____________ House 19950207 Introduced, referred to Committee 24 HIMRView additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.
COMMENDING GOVERNOR BEASLEY FOR TAKING A STRONG STANCE AGAINST SOUTH CAROLINA BECOMING THE WORLD'S NUCLEAR DUMPING GROUND AND MEMORIALIZING THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY TO CONDUCT A THOROUGH AND COMPLETE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT REGARDING IMPORTATION OF FOREIGN REACTOR SPENT FUEL BEFORE UNDERTAKING ANY FURTHER ATTEMPTS TO BRING HIGH-LEVEL NUCLEAR WASTE GENERATED IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES TO THE SAVANNAH RIVER SITE.
Whereas, the President of the United States and the United States Department of Energy have persisted in their efforts 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 General Assembly 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, the United States Department of Energy, which is supposed to protect our citizens from environmental harm, has failed to issue an environmental impact statement regarding shipment and storage of foreign reactor nuclear fuel as required by the National Environmental Policy Act; 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 is for 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 disproportional amount of defense-related cutbacks. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
That the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, by this resolution, commends Governor Beasley for taking a strong stance against South Carolina becoming the world's nuclear dumping ground and memorializes the President of the United States and the United States Department of Energy to conduct a thorough and complete environmental impact statement regarding importation of foreign reactor spent fuel before undertaking any further attempts to bring high-level nuclear waste generated in foreign countries to the Savannah River Site.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Governor of South Carolina, the President of the United States, and the United States Secretary of Energy.