Senators in Minnesota, Kentucky Vote to Lift New Nuclear Bans

State senators in Minnesota and Kentucky passed crucial legislation that could end longstanding bans in those states on the construction of new nuclear plants.

The Minnesota Senate last week voted 50-14 in support of a bill that would lift a 17-year-old ban on building new nuclear plants in that state. That’s enough of a majority to override a veto if Governor Mark Dayton (D) opposes the legislation. The bill passed after debate that lasted more than an hour and included five amendments from Democrats, all voted down.

The bill now heads to the Republican-dominated House. The Senate lifted the ban in 2009 but the measure died in the House. Last year, the House approved another bill to lift the ban, but it contained a variety of ratepayer protection clauses opposed by Republicans.

Dayton has said he was open to the bill as long as it has no impact on ratepayers, has no increase on nuclear waste, and has no “no weapons grade or near weapons grade plutonium” generated from any new reactors,” reported the Minnesota Star Tribune. The nuclear option would ultimately need approval from the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) if the state were to include it as part of the state’s energy policy. The PUC must also make recommendations regarding nuclear waste under the bill passed last week.

No new nuclear plants are planned in Minnesota, but Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch said the bill would give developers options. “To be clear: Deciding to repeal the prohibition is not a directive to construct a new nuclear power plant in Minnesota,” she said. “Lifting the ban would, however, allow our electricity providers and our utilities commission to consider all options.”

Last week, Kentucky’s Senate voted 31-5 to end a 27-year-old moratorium on new nuclear builds in the state. The ban was expected to be in place until the federal government executes a plan for permanent management of spent nuclear fuel. That bill will now head to the House.

Sen. Bob Leeper, an independent legislator from Paducah (home to USEC’s gaseous diffusion uranium enrichment plant), sponsored the bill and said that the measure had the backing of Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and that passage of the measure by both houses this term was likely.

Sources: POWERnews, Minnesota Senate, Kentucky Senate, Sen. Bob Leeper, Star Tribune