Nov 21 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - E.J. Schultz The Fresno Bee, Calif.

A Republican state lawmaker has abandoned his pursuit of a ballot initiative that would have lifted the state's decades-old ban on nuclear power plants.

The initiative would have cleared the way for a proposed nuclear power plant in Fresno.

Assembly Member Chuck DeVore of Irvine withdrew the proposal this week, but vowed to try again in coming years. Polling revealed decent support but not enough to justify a multimillion-dollar campaign, he said.

"We came to the conclusion that this is going to take a multiyear public education effort," he said.

John Hutson, leader of the group trying to bring a nuclear plant to Fresno, said the group is moving forward with its plans and is confident the ban will be lifted some day.

About 13% of the state's electricity supply comes from nuclear power, including two California plants. But a state law passed in 1976 prohibits the construction of plants until the federal government finds a way to dispose of high-level nuclear waste. A proposed repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada has been plagued by delays and political opposition.

The Fresno group is seeking to build a $4 billion, 1,600-megawatt nuclear reactor. Hutson said the target opening date is 2017.

DeVore has touted nuclear power as the only way to increase the state's electricity supply while complying with new restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions. Nuclear power plants produce few greenhouse gas emissions.

But environmentalists have raised concerns about storing radioactive waste and nuclear weapons proliferation, as well as cost overruns associated with previous plants.

"We should be moving forward with 21st century clean energy technologies instead of pouring more money down the nuclear rathole," Bill Magavern, of Sierra Club California, said in a statement Tuesday.

The reporter can be reached at eschultz@fresnobee.com or (916) 326-5541.

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