Atiyeh and Hallock: nuclear
pro and con
by MIKE DOLAN
Of the Emerald
Editor's note: This is the second
in a two-part series on nuclear
power bill in the Legislature. Part
one explained where the issue of
nuclear power now stands in the
Legislature. Part two will take a
look at some of the people and
the politics behind the issue.
SALEM — Someone once
asked Sen. Pres. Jason Boe why
he was referring nuclear power
bills to two committees, first to En
vironment and Energy and then to
Trade and Economic Develop
ment.
He said there were two parts to
the nuclear question, first the
issue of clean environment and
second the need for jobs and
economic growth.
What he did not say was that the
first committee was chaired by
Sen. Ted Hallock,a critic of nuc
lear power, and the second com
mittee (the one with the final deci
sion) was chaired by Sen. Victor
Atiyeh, who feels nuclear power
has an "interim” place in Oregon's
energy picture.
The senators are just two of the
people who will be shaping the
nuclear power issue. Thanks to
the introduction this month of the
nuclear safety standards measure
in the House, HB-2279, Ralph
Nader has entered the debate too.
Nader and Californian Ed
Koupal of People's Lobby are
backing a drive to get an identical
law passed in seven western
states requiring nuclear power
plants to meet more stringent
safety regulations. It requires
plant operators to test their acci
dent back-up systems, to have full
insurance coverage and to make
sure they can dispose of all
wastes.
If the plants do not meet the in
surance requirement, they must
operate at half capacity, If they do
not meet the safety standards,
they must scale down their opera
tion ten per cent each year until
they stop.
HB-2279 slipped by the House
Environment and Energy Com
mission with a narrow 4-3 vote. It
has to pass through the Joint
Trade and Economic Develop
ment Committee before it reaches
the full House.
But before the introduction of
that bill, two of Hallock's nuclear
bills were sent to the joint trade
committee. They were SB-120
and SB-127 which refer a five
year moratorium to a vote of the
people. They have been sitting in
committee for nearly two months.
They remaned there because
chairer Atiyeh was waiting for
Hallock’s third nuclear bill,
SB-121. The third bill—unlike the
others—institutes a moratorium
without a vote. But Hallock wanted
to know the fate of his first two bills
before sending over the third.
Conversely, Atiyeh has been
waiting for Hallock to schedule a
hearing on one of his bills
(Atiyeh's) in the Energy and Envi
ronment Committee. The bill,
SB-346, is important to Atiyeh be
cause it pulls the reins on one
government agency he has never
liked very much, the Land Con
servation and Development
Commission (LCDC). The LCDC
was created in 1973 to oversee
local land development through
out the state. Atiyeh opposes
LCDC because he feels it inter
feres with local control. SB-346
makes the LCDC submit its goals
to the Legislature for final ap
proval. -
Hallock has let the bill rest in his
oommittee.
But now Trade and Economic
Development has scheduled
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hearings on two of Hallock's bills
and HB-2279 for later this month.
Nuclear opponents are now gear
ing up for hearings.
They have two things going for
them—they are trying to stop un
safe plants—not all plants—and
the first two Hallock bills are based
on democracy—they let the final
decision rest with the voters. The
bills may get a boost from the big
name of Ralph Nader, depending
upon how much he wants to med
dle in Oregon politics. The pros
pect is slim, but Nader has criti
cized nuclear power more than
any other issue and he may want
to enter state politics when the
issue is identical in seven states.
Nuclear proponents, however,
have the advantage of better posi
tioning on the issue, Atiyeh con
trols the bills, and, if the legislation
reaches a stalemate, the present
situation, in which the plants are
unchecked, continues.
The opponents, composed of
small dedicated groups from
throughout the state including
Eugene, Corvailis, Lebanon and
eastern Oregon, are dedicated
almost exclusively to these bills
and they will work hard convincing
legislators face-to-face.
The industry, on the other hand,
is not worried. Doug Heider, Port
land General Electric (PGE) lob
byist, has not talked to anybody
about HB-2279 and he does not
expect it to go anywhere in the
House. Nor has he bothered to
study the bill, he is occupied with
other legislation.
HB-2279, as far as getting
through the legislature, has a
couple of weaknesses. It does not
lay down specific safety stan
dards, it relies on the state Legis
lature to decide
“reasonable”safety standards.
The bill provides that a one-third
vote can stop a nuclear power
plant. Many people will object to
the direct invertention of the law
makers, but the one-third number
leaves room for compromise—
maybe intentionally so.
Another problem in many legis
lators minds' is the idea of legisla
tive review. Rep. Cleatis Mitchell,
D- Ashland, one of three rep
resentatives who voted against
the measure in the Environment
and Energy Committee, says the
Legislature is not qualified to pass
judgment on the technology of
nuclear power plants.
And, unlike earlier nuclear
moratorium bills, HB-2279 does
not stop the construction of the
plants—directly. But the effect is
the same and nobody is being
fooled. The bill’s supporters had
hoped nobody would figure it out.
The seven-state drive of which
HB-2279 is a part is young and still
weak, but it has national impor
tance in two respects. People’s
Lobby is dedicated to the initiative
petition. Director Ed Koupal and
organizer John Forester hope to
make the process popular again
and subsequently provide voters
with a lever to use against en
trenched political power. Their
• eventual goal i s to get the initiative
petition in the United States Con
stitution.
The more narrow effect of the
drive is to challenge the federal
Energy Research and Develop
ment Administration, (ERDA),
successor of the Atomic Energy
Commission (AEC). ERDA hopes
to test, transport, store and throw
away nuclear wastes in the west.
(Continued on Page 10)
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