County could become a nuclear test site
By Terry Murry on Friday, December 20th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News Columbia Basin Top Stories
UMATILLA COUNTY – The Oregon Legislature will be asked to consider a step toward setting commercial nuclear power guidelines for the state. Umatilla County Commissioner Dan Dorran says a legislative concept is being proposed that would make the county a test site for the commercial use of small modular nuclear reactors.
He said the heavy energy demands for today’s industries – from agriculture to data farms – mean more energy options must be found. Dorran also said the energy has to come from somewhere, and there are limits to what can be supplied by hydropower, wind, and solar arrays.
He said that getting the support of the legislature would be just the first step.
“It asks for a referendum from the people of Umatilla County to be in support,” he said. “It talks about waste and how the waste is to be handled compared to federal guidelines. It talks about permitting.”
Dorran talked in depth about the plan in the second half of the Dec. 19 Coffee Hour on KUMA-AM. It’s available as a podcast at https://omny.fm/shows/coffee-hour-podcast.
