Political Quotes

“Never hesitant to support missions in support of our national defense, the residents of South Carolina took considerable risk by allowing shipments of defense plutonium to be sent to the Savannah River Site from Rocky Flats and other DOE sites in advance of the construction of the MOX plant. In addition to supporting DOE's efforts to consolidate plutonium and accomplish the goals of the plutonium disposition program, this agreement greatly assisted DOE's efforts to expeditiously close Rocky Flats, resulting in considerable cost savings for DOE. In a sign of good faith to the State of South Carolina, language was negotiated between the State of South Carolina and the Federal Government that required the Department of Energy to convert one metric ton of defense plutonium into fuel for commercial nuclear reactors by 2011 or face penalties of $1 million per day up to $100 million per year until the plutonium is either converted into the fuel or removed from the State. It has never been the intention of South Carolina to receive penalty payments; the residents of the State simply sought reassurances that weapons-grade plutonium would not remain at SRS indefinitely. South Carolina would not have accepted plutonium without this statute. However, until the plant is operational, it is critical to maintain the protections provided in Section 4306 of the Atomic Energy Defense Act, 50 USC 2566.…”