State of New Mexico Jobs

Federal lawmakers patted themselves on the back, last Friday, in a jointbi-partisan news release issued by three New Mexico politicians: U.S. SenatorsPete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman, and U.S. Congressman Steve Pearce. Theircelebratory remarks were meant to remind voters why the politicians were inWashington – to bring their state new jobs for at least some of New Mexico’svoters. While the chorus of praise revolved around creating new jobs andbringing millions of dollars into the state’s economy, is there more behindthis story, which has not yet been told?

For Senator Domenici, this was another major victory as the longest servingU.S. Senator in New Mexico’s history. The Republican Senator heads the SenateEnergy and Natural Resources Committee. Domenici made his views on nuclearenergy quite clear in his book “A Brighter Tomorrow: Fulfilling the Promise ofNuclear Energy” (Rowman & Littlefield, 2004). He began pursuing LouisianaEnergy Services to move to New Mexico in February 2003, after it becameapparent Hartsville, Tennessee didn’t want uranium being enriched in theirbackyard.

And again, it was Domenici, whose last minute negotiations with EnergySecretary Samuel Bodman, led to the adoption of the Part 810 Waiver. The waiverallowed Louisiana Energy Services (LES) to contact foreign-owned Urenco Ltdabout transferring high technology data (the gas centrifuge technology) to LESso the uranium enrichment technology could be utilized at the new facility.U.S. laws ordinarily prohibit such nuclear technology transfers, but Domenici’sintervention brought the project to the NRC approval stage. LES had been on thedrawing boards since 1989, having derived its name from the state of Louisiana.The LES partnership was initially formed with the intent of building itscentrifuge enrichment plant in Homer, Louisiana.

Senator Domenici’s impact upon the nuclear resurgence in the United Statesis evident to the entire industry and most politicians. He announced last year,“In 1997, I predicted the resurgence of nuclear energy in the United States.For the last eight years, I have worked to help make that renaissance areality.” Is there, perhaps, one more achievement Senator Domenici would liketo add on behalf of the nuclear industry, before giving up his Senate seat? Inhis book, “A Brighter Tomorrow,” Domenici bemoans and condemns nuclear fuelreprocessing. With the advent of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP),Domenici may bring a nuclear power plant to New Mexico before he retires.

Domenici’s Democratic counterpart, Senator Jeff Bingaman, is the rankingDemocrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee. We suspectBingaman may play an integral role in helping Senator Domenici fulfill thatdream. Ironically, Senator Bingaman, who last November was invited to a SantaFe anti-nuclear environmentalist fundraiser, and which highlighted televisionmogul Ted Turner, was effusive in saying about the LES enrichment facility,“This will be one of the largest construction projects our state has ever seen.And the economic impact in southeastern New Mexico will be tremendous.” DoesBingaman appear to be playing both sides of the nuclear chessboard?

No, the former attorney, who reportedly once provided legal advice touranium mining powerhouse, Kerr McGee, is deftly maneuvering between being agood Democrat and providing what he may honestly believe is best for his state.While Bingaman has curried favor among the environmentalists, in May of thisyear, he accepted, along with Domenici and others, the William S. Lee Award forLeadership at the Nuclear Energy Institute’s (NEI) annual conference, saying,“I share a belief that nuclear power can make a meaningful contribution tocontrolling the growth of greenhouse gases, while still allowing our economy toexpand.” It was his subsequent remark directed at the NEI, which leads us tobelieve he may be among the first to support additional nuclear growth in NewMexico. He told the NEI, “I am hoping that you will do your part to use thosetools that Congress has put in place to ensure that nuclear power achieves itspotential as part of our future energy mix.”

The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership

In March 2006, Senator Domenici pledged his support to President Bush’sGlobal Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP),

“With GNEP, we begin to close the cycle on nuclear waste in ways thatprevent proliferation and reduce both the volume and toxicity of waste. Byrecycling spent nuclear fuel, we can reuse the uranium, which is 96 percent ofspent fuel, and separate the most toxic radioactive material to be burned in anadvanced burner reactor. By reusing uranium fuel and burning the transuranicmaterial in a new generation of modern reactors, we can reduce the amount ofwaste placed in Yucca Mountain by a factor of 100.”

One of the key technologies in the GNEP program in is the Advanced BurnerReactor (ABR). Deriving its technology from fast reactors, which were used tomake nuclear weapons, the concept of the ABR is to minimize the amount ofnuclear waste, produced by the nuclear industry’s power plants, to a tinyfraction of content. The concept behind the ABR is to “burn” the transuranicelements, such as plutonium and other long-living radioactive material. In thiscase, burning the radioactive waste is translated as: destroying thetransuranics, by converting them into shorter-lived isotopes. When thetransuranic elements are consumed by the ABR, a large amount of energy isreleased and then converted into electricity.

Instead of burying several football fields of nuclear waste in YuccaMountain (or elsewhere) for one million years, the toxic waste would berecycled as energy to be immediately used to power homes and industry. Part ofthe GNEP plan is to combine the current, or advanced, light water reactors withthe ABR. As the light water nuclear reactors produce transuranics, the ABRsconsume those highly radioactive elements. This leaves less nuclear waste forfuture disposal, and immediately provides energy.

The major issue in the western United States, about nuclear waste, is“please don’t put it in our backyard.” Several western states have beenapproached, and even the Carlsbad area was once discussed. Through the ABRtechnology, it may be possible to minimize the amount of this waste to make ita less undesirable disposal problem. A look at local New Mexico politics mayprovide an insight as to where the two U.S. senators may be heading withregards to a nuclear power plant for New Mexico.

New Mexico’s Enrichment Facility:Prelude to a Nuclear Power Plant?

If Federal lawmakers are happy about the proposed uranium enrichmentfacility, some of New Mexico’s state politicians were still floating on cloudswhen we talked to them yesterday. New Mexico legislator John A. Heaton, theDemocratic representative serving Carlsbad, waxed enthusiastic about theenrichment facility, “It’s the first step in converting this country to nuclearenergy.”

Mainly the four state senators and representatives, whom we interviewed,echoed each other’s praise about Urenco’s proposed enrichment facility. “Icould not be more pleased,” Senator Carroll H. Leavell told us. “It will have amajor, very positive impact on the economy.” At the peak of construction, asmany as 1200 workers may be employed. Later, when the facility is operational,about 300 workers will remain. All four were pleasantly surprised that townhall hearings for the proposed facility were overwhelmingly positive, and thelocal citizens would be delighted to have this facility in built insoutheastern New Mexico. Senator Leavell said with disgust, “Most of the(anti-nuclear) protests have come from outside our area, places like SanFrancisco, DC and Santa Fe.”

Senators Leavell and Gay G. Kernan, the state senator from Hobbs, wereinvited by Urenco Ltd. to tour an enrichment technology plant in Almelo,Netherlands and left impressed with the company, its honesty and especially themanagement’s attitude of looking at both sides of the issues. Both statesenators also observed the surrounding community failed to be negativelyimpacted by the enrichment facility.

Looking for deeper insights into what the future might hold, we asked allfour about the possibility of a nuclear power plant in New Mexico. All fouragreed it would be desirable. Additional comments by the four state politiciansled us to believe there might be a second step, following Heaton’s remark aboutthe enrichment facility being the first step.

Donald L. Whitaker, the Democratic legislator from Eunice, the closest townto the proposed enrichment facility, told us, “I would like to see a nuclearreactor in New Mexico.” Whitaker has toured a nuclear facility, and believesone would be great for the state’s economy. “They employ about one thousand andbring high-paying jobs,” he said. Representative Whitaker was not the lonevoice among his fellow eastern New Mexican legislators.

“Yes, we want a nuclear reactor in New Mexico,” Representative Heaton said.Heaton is the legislature’s Vice Chairman of the Radioactive and HazardousMaterials committee and a member of the Energy & Natural ResourcesCommittee. He discussed the ABR technology and GNEP, explaining how this wouldsolve the waste disposal problem of nuclear reactors and sway public opinion onnuclear energy.

Senator Leavell took a more cautious approach, explaining how nuclearreactors need tremendous amounts of water. “I don’t think New Mexico could havea nuclear reactor, not with the current technology.” But, he still agreed itwould be a good idea if new technologies were developed, which used lesswater.

Senator Gay Kernan told us, “I don’t know if I should be talking about this,but we are one of the candidates for the GNEP program.” Having heard a rumorthat General Atomics may propose building a nuclear power plant in eastern NewMexico, Senator Kernan confirmed such a plant may be on the drawing boards, andtelling us West Texas is likely to be developed as an “alternative energycorridor.” She told us, “It would stretch from Carlsbad, New Mexico to theOdessa-Midland, Texas area.” Senator Kernan would also like New Mexico to havea nuclear plant, “I don’t have a problem with that.”

The third politician, joining Senators Domenici and Bingaman, in praisingthe NRC approval of a draft license for LES and Urenco Ltd, was U.S.Congressman Steve Pearce. Comments, issued by his press secretary on Friday andpraising the LES announcement, may foreshadow New Mexico’s next step, “Today’sannouncement marks a major milestone in our efforts to cement our state’sleadership role in the development of alternative energy.” What greaterleadership by a state than in introducing the new GNEP ABR technology in NewMexico? After all, the state of New Mexico remains the founding home to nucleartechnology, where the world’s first atomic technology was designed at LosAlamos.

In a related development, David Watts, President of the University of Texasof the Permian Basin, recently met with Congressman Pearce about developing ahelium-cooled nuclear reactor facility, which would be built underground ineither Lea County, New Mexico or Andrews County, Texas. General Atomics of SanDiego has funded the pre-conceptual design, which is underway and scheduled forcompletion in August. Waste Control Specialists has a low-level radioactivewaste storage site in Andrews County. Realistically, a nuclear reactor in NewMexico is not out of the question. The legislators may get what they want. Webelieve Senator Domenici will ultimately set into motion the plans to bring NewMexico its first nuclear power plant. It would become his crowning achievementin helping the nuclear renaissance blossom in this country and in hisstate.