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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 1719
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(As Amended by Senate Amendment No. 1)

 
3    WHEREAS, Zion Nuclear Power Station was a dual reactor
4nuclear power plant built in 1973 along the shore of Lake
5Michigan on 257 acres in the City of Zion; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The two Zion reactor units, each with a generating
7capacity of 1,040 MW, remained operational for approximately 23
8years from 1973 to 1997; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The construction of the Zion Nuclear Power Station
10was funded by utility ratepayers throughout the State of
11Illinois; and
 
12    WHEREAS, The people of Zion cooperated with utilities in
13the construction and placement of the Zion Nuclear Power
14Station in their city; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Zion Nuclear Power Station paid $19.8 million in
16local taxes in 1996, and those taxes represented approximately
1755% of the local tax base; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The loss of tax revenue has shifted the local tax
19burden onto the people of Zion, and negatively impacted the
20local taxing bodies including the City of Zion, Zion Township,

 

 

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1Zion Elementary School District 6, Zion-Benton High School
2District 126, Zion-Benton Library District, and Zion Park
3District; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Decontamination and dismantlement of the Zion
5Nuclear Power Station began in 2011 and continues with an
6estimated 2020 final closure date; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The 1982 federal Nuclear Waste Policy Act was
8enacted to provide for the development of repositories for the
9disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear
10fuel, including creation of the Interim Storage Fund; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The previously approved spent nuclear fuel
12repository at Yucca Mountain remains incomplete and unfunded
13and no alternative permanent fuel repository has been
14designated; and
 
15    WHEREAS, The Interim Storage Fund was created using
16ratepayer funds to make payments to a state or local government
17to mitigate social or economic impacts arising from the
18operation of an interim storage facility; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Upon completion of the dismantlement process, due
20to the lack of a permanent fuel repository, 2.2 million pounds
21of spent nuclear fuel rods will remain at the Zion Nuclear

 

 

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1Power Station, rendering the area a de facto interim nuclear
2storage facility; and
 
3    WHEREAS, The storage of this nuclear material will render a
4large portion of Zion's Lake Michigan shoreline unusable and
5valued at a fraction of its fair market value, resulting in a
6massive negative economic impact on the community; therefore,
7be it
 
8    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
9ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge Congress to
10pass legislation to allocate funds from the Interim Storage
11Fund or any other funds to the local authorities in Zion and
12other similarly situated communities to mitigate social and
13economic impacts arising from the storage of nuclear material;
14and be it further
 
15    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
16delivered to Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul
17Ryan, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and all
18members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.