WI Public Hearing: No voice in dissent on bill ending nuke plant moratorium

[HereSince1628]

http://wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=360285

Not one person during a nearly three-hour public hearing today testified against a bill that would lift what amounts to Wisconsin's moratorium on nuclear power plant construction.

Beyond bill author Rep. Kevin Petersen, those speaking in favor of AB 384 included Public Service Commission member and former DOA Secretary Mike Huebsch. The Assembly's Energy and Utilities Committee also heard from multiple construction industry representatives and students wearing t-shirts that read "Environmentalist for nuclear energy."

The topic isn't new in the Capitol. It arose as a possibility during former Gov. Jim Doyle's administration through an energy task force. And committee member Rep. Josh Zepnick, of Milwaukee, said he is among the Dems who have tried to lift the moratorium.

Huebsch underscored that point, telling the committee although the bill is from Republicans, it warrants bipartisan support.

"The time has come for Wisconsin to enter the 21st century discussion of nuclear power," he said, adding he introduced several similar bills when he was in the Assembly.

Petersen, R-Waupaca, said the state in 1983 enacted regulations that essentially put a stop to nuclear plant construction. But changes in the industry, combined with the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan, mean Wisconsin has to reconsider nuclear energy, he said.