Study of a Conceptual Nuclear Energy Center at Green River, Utah: Licensing Considerations

摘要

This report examines the laws governing the location of a 9-unit nuclear energy center (NEC) near Green River, Utah. The time frame being considered for development of the conceptual NEC is from 1995 to 2013. Accordingly, the report is forced to speculate about some aspects of the plant, its site and its construction. Most of the report examines existing legal requirements for constructing an NEC. Where pertinent, changes in the law are discussed that would affect an NEC that is to be licensed in one or two decades. In general, no insurmountable legal problems exist that would prevent an NEC from being licensed at the Green River location. Several legal requirements pose significant concerns and would have to be faced before an NEC could be built. Among the major legal constraints are radiation protection, regulatory approval of financing, access to water, and local zoning restrictions. Two other constraints that involve legal matters are the wisdom of standardization of the units and the responsibility of the NEC builder to correct socio-economic impacts on the local area. (ERA citation 08:017885)