ML20059D451
| ML20059D451 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Claiborne |
| Issue date: | 12/21/1993 |
| From: | Taylor J HOMER, LA |
| To: | NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9401070301 | |
| Download: ML20059D451 (2) | |
Text
7 CLAIBORNE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD
^
HOMER. LOUICIANA 71040 o
o P.O. Box 270 o
%8ofo December 21, 1993 Chief, Enrichment Branch Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Mail Stop 4-E-4 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555 RE:
Comments of support for the Claiborne Enrichment Center following completion of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
Dear Sir:
As president of the Claiborne Economic Development Foundation Board, and on the behalf of our members, I am writing to u ge the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to complete its review of the Louisiana Energy Services (LES) license application for the Claiborne Enrichment Center (CEC) in order to enable the construction and operation of facility as soon as possible, it has been three years since LES submitted its initial application.
From the beginning it has been abundantly clear that Claiborne Parish and the surrounding area desperately need the jobs and taxes that would be generated by the location of this facility in Claiborne Parish.
.i The primary concern has been the potential environmental impacts of the construction, operation and eventual decontamination and decomissioning of the facility.
The DEIS, completed in November 1993, clearly allays any fears that might have existed in this area.
As related to any radiological impacts, the DEIS states that " Routine operation of CEC would result in negligible radiation doses to individuals and the population. Further, LES would be subject to EPA's applicable standards of 40 CFR Part 190...."
Further, the DEIS concludes: In conclusion, NRC analyses of the potential environmental impacts associated with construction and operation of CEC indicates that the impacts are very small and are primarily confined to the site boundaries. Some of the impacts are beneficial (e.g. socioeconomics)."
Thus, the DEIS itself eliminates the only reason why this plant should not be licensed.
-i Claiborne Parish is a poor rural area, with few job opportunities for our citizens. In fact, the per capita earnings of the citizens of Claiborne parish is about $5,800 per year (Louisiana Tech University,1992) which as the DEIS notes
...makes it one of the poorest regions in the United States as measured by per capita earnings."
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O-The purpose of ' the Claiborne Economic Development Board is to foster - the -
' creation _ of new jobs for_ our citizens. Therefore, it is readily apparent that the 250 construction jobs and the _200 permanent jobs that will be created by the i
peration of this facility is of, vital concern to our Board, in particular, and _ to '
othe citizens of Claiborne' Parish, in general. Simiply put, our citizens need _these_
Because of the lack of good jobs in Claiborne Parish, our_ area has, suffered from out-migration for the past generation.- Today, a vast majority. of our youth' are forced to leave the area upon completing their education in order to find gainful.
employment.
The. CEC facility will be located in a Louisiana Rural Enterprise Zone which requires-that a percentage of. the employees must be from the local-area.
This requirement will help assure that employment opportunities are available to enable _more of our young adults to remain here 'after completion of ~
their schooling.
Additionally, our school system will be greatly enhanced by the' taxes that will.
be paid by LES.
Even should LES qualify for the Louisiana 10-Year: Tax :
i Exemption orogram, which absolves manufacturers from paying ad valorem taxes for 10-yes, the program does not apply to taxes levied by the school board.
Then, toe, once the exemption period is completed, other local and state governments will directly benefit by taxes paid by LES.
l Beyond the jobs and benefits that will accrue to citizens of Claiborne Parish h
and the surrounding areas, the DEIS also notes that the construction and.
i operation of this facility - which would be the only privately operated-uranium-enrichment' facility operating in the U.S.
"would provide;a means to negate the dependence on. foreign suppliers 'and sources" of enriched uranium for our energy 5
producers.
As the DEIS states: "In 1991, the General Accounting. Office (G AO) i predicted that annual separative work unit (SWU). world ~ capacity producing _.
enriched uranium would exceed the market demand and. thus a _ competitive market would be ' created.
This competitive-market ' is. expected to L develop as more long-term DOE contracts expire or are terminated l and.more energy efficient enrichment techniques are employed...In ' the absence. of_ nationally
~
produced enrichment services, the opportunity would be replaced by foreign -
sources."
In light of the numerous benefits that would be created-by the construction and operation. of the -fecility for the citizens of, Claiborne Parish.. the ' State of Louisiana and the nation as a whole - and the limited,. manageable impacts that would be expected to affect the environment, l ' and the members ' of 1 the Claiborne Economic development Board,. again, respectfully urge the U.
S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission to proceed as rapidly. as possible to conclude its review of the LES application in order to - enable the construction and operation of the Claiborne Enrichment Center as soon as possible.
Sincerely yours, FW J.' T. -Taylor President Claiborne Economic Development Board