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Keeping the Momentum: A Message From Justin Fay

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

nuclear1Here’s a message from Justin Fay that seemed worth repeating whole:

Although the House vote today to oppose repealing the moratorium on nuclear power was a significant victory, we are by no means finished with this issue.  We still have a conference committee to work through, and we can be certain that this amendment will continue to be offered every session until it passes…and in spite of today’s encouraging vote, defeating this initiative will only become more difficult in the future.
There are a few simple things that we all can do in the short term to help keep some momentum intact:
1.  First and foremost, if your legislator is one of the 72 who voted in support of keeping the moratorium (vote count pasted below), please send them a quick note thanking them for their vote today, and ask your friends and family to do the same.
2. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper applauding the Minnesota House for their forward-thinking vote on the repeal.
3. Go to the following news stories about the repeal and leave a brief comment voicing your support for the House decision today:
House Vote Results (to be clear – a “negative vote” was a vote to maintain the moratorium):
Those who voted in the affirmative were:
Anderson, B.
Anderson, P.
Anderson, S.
Beard
Brod
Buesgens
Bunn
Cornish
Davids
Dean
Demmer
Dettmer
Doepke
Doty
Downey
Drazkowski
Eastlund
Faust
Garofalo
Gottwalt
Gunther
Hackbarth
Hamilton
Haws
Holberg
Hoppe
Hosch
Howes
Huntley
Juhnke
Kelly
Kiffmeyer
Koenen
Kohls
Lanning
Loon
Mack
Magnus
Mahoney
McFarlane
McNamara
Murdock
Nelson
Nornes
Norton
Olin
Pelowski
Peppin
Poppe
Sanders
Scott
Seifert
Severson
Shimanski
Smith
Swails
Torkelson
Urdahl
Westrom
Zellers
Those who voted in the negative were:
Abeler
Anzelc
Atkins
Benson
Bigham
Bly
Brown
Brynaert
Carlson
Champion
Clark
Davnie
Dittrich
Eken
Falk
Fritz
Gardner
Greiling
Hansen
Hausman
Hayden
Hilstrom
Hilty
Hornstein
Hortman
Jackson
Johnson
Kahn
Kalin
Kath
Knuth
Laine
Lenczewski
Lesch
Liebling
Lieder
Lillie
Loeffler
Mariani
Marquart
Masin
Morgan
Morrow
Mullery
Murphy, E.
Murphy, M.
Newton
Obermueller
Otremba
Paymar
Persell
Peterson
Reinert
Rosenthal
Rukavina
Ruud
Sailer
Scalze
Sertich
Simon
Slawik
Slocum
Solberg
Sterner
Thao
Thissen
Tillberry
Wagenius
Ward
Welti
Winkler
Spk. Kelliher
–
Justin Fay
Contract Lobbyist
Sierra Club North Star Chapter
612-251-1457
jfay612@gmail.com

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House Defeats Repeal of Nuclear Moratorium

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

Spring           Waxing Flower Moon

Expensive. Polluting. Dangerous. Nuclear Power gets a hearing on March 25th at the State Capitol. Will you come and help Us say no? Again.

“All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk.”  Ronald Reagan

—-

Maybe so.  But who would want to sit at that desk?

The House, only moments ago, defeated an amendment to the House Omnibus Energy Bill, offered by Rep. Faust, DFL, to repeal the state’s moratorium on granting nuclear power plant certificates.  The vote was 60-72.

The debate lasted almost an hour.  The telling points seemed to be three:  1.  What will we do with the waste?   2.  Nuclear power plants are expensive and pollute water sources, usually rivers, with heat.  3.  Should we follow the path laid down in the past toward our energy future or should we create a new path with renewables and a different conception about electrical use, e.g. more conservation, distributed production.

This defeat means the Omnibus Energy conference committee will not have both houses of the legislature in agreement on this issue.  The repeal passed as an amendment on the Senate floor.  The conference committee will, therefore, have to consider the repeal.  This is not over yet.

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Need Turn-Out For A Hearing on Nuclear Energy Next Week

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

Waning Moon of Winds

“All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk.”
Ronald Reagan quotes (American 40th US President (1981- 89), 1911-2004)

Monticello

Monticello

As I have posted before, bills to remove the ban on nuclear energy facilities in Minnesota are hardy perennials, having popped up each legislative session since the 1994 ban passed the Legislature.  Sierra Club was part of that victory.  This session has seen more than the usual number of these bills and some interest in them.

We need you to help remind the legislature the ban still has support among Minnesotans.  If you can, please attend the hearing on Wednesday night.

=====

A joint meeting of the Legislative Energy Commission; the House Energy Finance & Policy Division; and the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities, Technology and Communications will hold this informational hearing.

What:  An informational hearing on nuclear Energy

When:  6:30-9:30 p.m., March 25th (Wednesday)

Where:  State Office Building Room 200

=====

This informational hearing will be followed by a committee hearing on Thursday, March 26, in the House Energy Finance and Policy Division.  This meeting will hear HF 1091, a bill to lift the ban.

THURSDAY, March 26, 2009

House Energy Finance & Policy Division, Chair: Rep. Bill Hilty

When:  6:30 PM
Where:  Room: 200 State Office Building
Agenda: HF1091 (Mahoney) New nuclear power plant certificate of need prohibition abolished.

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