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| Thursday, September 2, 2010 |
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Environmentalists to oppose Bellefonte
Published February 5, 2010
Members of local environmental groups and concerned county citizens will speak to elected officials Monday at two separate meetings about a proposed resolution for the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Garry Morgan, member and local coordinator of the Bellefonte Efficiency and Sustainability Team and the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, said Thursday representatives from BEST and BREDL will speak to members of the Jackson County Commission and the Scottsboro City Council at their meetings Monday about a resolution supporting TVA’s Bellefonte location as a site for a nuclear plant.
Morgan said TVA is asking, through the local economic development authority, that governing bodies draft resolutions of support for nuclear plants.
Representatives from the environmental groups will make a presentation in opposition of nuclear power.
“We have some ideas for better solutions,” Morgan said Thursday, adding the company could look to combined-cycle natural gas, solar power or other types of sustainable energies.
Heather Bradley of Stevenson and Elizabeth Johnson of Scottsboro will express their concerns Monday before Lou Zeller, science director of the Blue Ridge Environmental Group, and Sandy Kurtz of BEST explain the risks and alternatives to nuclear energy.
The estimated 25-minute presentation, Morgan said, would highlight alternative plans for Bellefonte with both energy-efficient and sustainable ways to provide needed power to the Tennessee Valley area.
The TVA Board of Directors could decide as early as April if a single-unit nuclear power plant will be built at Bellefonte.
Morgan said the group wants Jackson County citizens to know all the information available before any decision regarding the plant is made.
Morgan said the nuclear industry in the United States is not as safe as believed, and he wants to tell people "the whole story."
"There's more to the story than TVA puts out there, and we want people to know about it," he said.
City Clerk Cathy O'Shields said she did have a copy of the resolution, which asks the city council to support Bellefonte as a nuclear site. She said Thursday afternoon, however, that the resolution's approval is not on the agenda for Monday's meeting. O'Shields added she doesn't expect the item to go before the council Monday night.
Anna Lewis, Jackson County Commission clerk, said Thursday the commission office had not been notified of such a resolution and had not seen a copy. The item was not on the commission's proposed agenda as of Thursday afternoon.
The Jackson County Commission meets Monday at 4:30 p.m. inside Courtroom No. 1, located on the second floor of the courthouse. The Scottsboro City Council meeting is at 6 p.m Monday inside city hall.
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