By Mike Toney, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Two identical bills that would lift restrictions on nuclear power plant construction in West Virginia moved closer to passing in the state Legislature Monday.
The full Senate is slated to vote on Senate Bill 4 Tuesday without discussion after it advanced to a third reading Monday, while House Bill 2882 was advanced to the full House of Delegates by the Government Organization Committee.
Both bills would repeal the state’s conditional ban on nuclear power plant construction, a move that some other states have made amid the nation’s energy transition.
State code holds that the use of nuclear fuel and power “poses an undue hazard to the health, safety and welfare” of West Virginians and bans nuclear facilities unless the proponent of a facility can prove that “a functional and effective national facility, which safely, successfully and permanently disposes of radioactive wastes, has been developed.” State code requires that construction of any nuclear facility must be economically feasible for ratepayers and comply with environmental laws…
To read more: https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/legislative_session/bills-that-would-lift-state-restrictions-on-nuclear-power-plant-construction-move-toward-passage-in/article_5432ad3a-8e2b-570d-a67a-165d37749f93.html
