SR1719 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Zion Nuclear Power Station was a dual reactor nuclear power plant built in 1973 along the shore of Lake Michigan on 257 acres in the City of Zion; and

WHEREAS, The two Zion reactor units, each with a generating capacity of 1,040 MW, remained operational for approximately 23 years from 1973 to 1997; and

WHEREAS, The construction of the Zion Nuclear Power Station was funded by utility ratepayers throughout the State of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The people of Zion cooperated with utilities in the construction and placement of the Zion Nuclear Power Station in their city; and

WHEREAS, Zion Nuclear Power Station paid $19.8 million in local taxes in 1996, and those taxes represented approximately 55% of the local tax base; and

WHEREAS, The loss of tax revenue has shifted the local tax burden onto the people of Zion, and negatively impacted the local taxing bodies including the City of Zion, Zion Township, Zion Elementary School District 6, Zion-Benton High School District 126, Zion Benton Library District, and Zion Park District; and

WHEREAS, Decontamination and dismantlement of the Zion Nuclear Power Station began in 2011 and continues with an estimated 2020 final closure date; and

WHEREAS, The 1982 federal Nuclear Waste Policy Act was enacted to provide for the development of repositories for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, including creation of the Interim Storage Fund; and

WHEREAS, The previously approved spent nuclear fuel repository at Yucca Mountain remains incomplete and unfunded and no alternative permanent fuel repository has been designated; and

WHEREAS, The Interim Storage Fund was created using ratepayer funds to make payments to a state or local government to mitigate social or economic impacts arising from the operation of an interim storage facility; and

WHEREAS, Upon completion of the dismantlement process, due to the lack of a permanent fuel repository, 2.2 million pounds of spent nuclear fuel rods will remain at the Zion Nuclear Power Station, rendering the area a de facto interim nuclear storage facility; and

WHEREAS, The storage of this nuclear material will render a large portion of Zion's Lake Michigan shoreline unusable and valued at a fraction of its fair market value, resulting in a massive negative economic impact on the community; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge Congress to pass legislation to allocate funds from the Interim Storage Fund to the local authorities in Zion and other similarly situated communities to mitigate social and economic impacts arising from the storage of nuclear material; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.