City Council Resolution 1994-02RESOLUTION 94- 2
PRIARIE ISLAND NUCLEAR FUEL STORAGE PROJECT
-- RESOLUTION --
WHEREAS: The Minnesota Court of Appeals has determined that the proposed
facility for storage of spent nuclear fuel at Northern States Power's
(NSP) Prairie Island Nuclear Plant "...is in the public interest";
and, has also determined that legislative authorization is
necessary to settle the question of permanancy of storage under
MN Statute 116C.71 (Mn. Radioactive Waste Storage Act); AND,
WHEREAS: Nuclear fuel accounts for 309 of the energy NSP provides to meet
the needs of the public, which utilizes electricity to sustain and
enhance the personal and economic quality of life in the Upper
Midwest; AND,
WHEREAS: Five agencies of the State of Minnesota (Attorney General's Office;
Dep't. of Health, Dep't. of Public Service, Environmental Quality
Board, and Public Utilities Commission) have approved NSP's
application to build a temporary dry cask storage facility on-site at
the Priairie Island Nuclear Plant; AND,
WHEREAS: The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has issued a Certificate of
Need for the storage facility after an exhaustive review which
determined that all criteria specified for issuance under PUC Rules
have been met by NSP's application; AND,
WHEREAS: The NSP Resource Plan filed with the PUC in July, 1993, shows the
cost to customers of closing down Prairie Island to be $1.8 Billion
more than if the plant were allowed to run to the end of its license
period (with total indirect costs to the economy of Minnesota
estimated at $3.4 Billion); AND,
WHEREAS: Closing the plant would cause a loss of property taxes, currently in
excess of $19 million per year, along with a loss of 500 permanent
jobs; AND,
WHEREAS: Replacing the energy demand met by Prairie Island with power
available from the burning of fossil fuels would cause an increase in
air emissions of 10,000-15,000 tons per year of sulfur dioxide and
5,000 tons per year of carbon dioxide, and the likelihood of NSP
electrical grid stability and reliability problems; AND,
WHEREAS: The Prairie Island Nuclear Plant has long been recognized as a world-
class leader in availability and capacity factor, operational safety,
environmental consciousness, and economic cost of production; AND,
WHEREAS: The City of Monticello is home to NSP's Monticello Nuclear Generating
Plant which is similarly recognized among its peers as a top-rated
nuclear generating facility; AND,
Resolution 94- 2
Page 2
WHEREAS: The Federal Government does have responsibility, placed with the
Department of Energy (DOE) through the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act,
to locate, develop and operate a permanent repository for the storage
of spent nuclear fuel from the nation's commercial nuclear generating
plants; THEREFORE,
BE IT HEREIN RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF MONTICELLO, MINNESOTA THAT THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA SHALL APPROVE NORTHERN STATES POWER
COMPANY'S PROJECT TO CONSTRUCT AND OPERATE AN ON-SITE FACILITY FOR THE DRY
STORAGE OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL ORIGINATING AT NSP'S PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR
GENERATING PLANT.
Approved this 24th Of January , 1994.
Signed: Mayor
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