Tribal representatives from the Colorado River Indian
Tribes (CRIT), as well as from the Ute and Goshute tribes,
expressed their concerns about a proposed nuclear power
plant near Green River at a public meeting that took place
at the Moab Arts and Recreation Center (MARC) on
Monday, August 18.[…]
“I have concerns about this,” CRIT council representative
Johnny Hill said. “Our water is very precious. It’s more
precious than gold. This is our agriculture, our income,
our beef, our chicken, our food.”
[…]
Forrest Cuch, a Ute Indian from the Uintah Basin, said he came down, “to join my native brothers and
sisters to oppose the nuclear power plant.”
Cuch said that he has already seen too much destruction from the oil and gas industry in the Uintah
Basin, and that the risk for catastrophe with a nuclear power plant is too high.
“They had the ocean in Fukishima,” he said. “Imagine polluting the Colorado River.”
[…]
Forrest Cuch, a Ute Indian from the Uintah Basin, said he came down, “to join my native brothers and
sisters to oppose the nuclear power plant.”
Cuch said that he has already seen too much destruction from the oil and gas industry in the Uintah
Basin, and that the risk for catastrophe with a nuclear power plant is too high.
“They had the ocean in Fukishima,” he said. “Imagine polluting the Colorado River.”
Proponents of the project say that it will be an economic boon to Emery County, and that water use by the
plant will be negligible.
[…]
“I am 100-percent in favor of a nuclear power plant in Green River,” Emery County commissioner J.R.
Nelson said. “I’m convinced these (tribal) elders want to preserve their lifestyle without accepting
change.”
[…]
Blue Castle Holding still has other hurdles to cross. The Nuclear Regulatory commission hasn’t issued a
permit for a new nuclear power plant since 1977. In addition, permitting the project could cost up to $200
million, and construction could cost as much as $18 billion. The company has already spent $17.5
million in initial studies.
“This is so ‘pie in the sky,’ it’s frustrating,” Fields said. “When you go to Green River and you see people
putting all their marbles in this basket instead of focusing on more viable economic development
projects, it’s like buying a lottery ticket.”
Read more.
What heedlessness, especially in the face of reports showing the rates at which the Colorado River Basin is losing water. Californians should be joining in the protest!
The dismissal of the tribal complaints as “refusing change” is at once offensive and ignorant: it’s county commissioner Nelson who’s refusing to look at the changes in the physical and social environment.