Galveston wants full study of nuclear barge

Oct 10 - Houston Chronicle (TX)

Unhappy about not being consulted about the proposed dismantling of a floating nuclear power plant at the Port of Galveston , the Galveston City Council has voted unanimously to request an environmental impact statement before work proceeds.

The vote Thursday came after a representative from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gave a rambling explanation about why city officials were not consulted before plans were put in motion to decommission the barge Sturgis, the only floating nuclear power plant ever built in the United States , at Pier 41 .

"We may have to go further and file a lawsuit if they disagree" about the need for the impact statement, Councilman Ralph McMorris said before the vote.

The council voted to seek an environmental impact statement, a lengthy and involved process that in some cases can take years, as well as send letters to Texas senators and U.S. representatives. Another letter will complain to the head of the Corps' Baltimore district, which is overseeing the decommissioning, about the lack of communication with the city.

Barber, the project manager for the Corps' Baltimore district, told the council that the agency wanted open communications with the council but said, "There is no requirement for us to move forward with an environmental impact statement."

The Corps conducted a less rigorous environmental impact assessment and found no hazard.

"There won't be a risk to human health and the environment," Barber said.

An environmental impact statement would derail the Corps' schedule for Malin International Ship Repair & Drydock, a subcontractor of CB&I Federal Services , to complete the $34.66 million contract in 2016. The Sturgis is expected to be towed to Galveston in December.

The Corps conducted a public information meeting at the Galveston Convention Center last month, but city officials and council members were unaware that it was scheduled. McMorris attended a meeting among other government officials only after being notified by a Houston Chronicle reporter. The public meeting was sparsely attended and there was no protest.

Since then, council members have fielded phone calls, texts and emails of concern or opposition to the proposed dismantling.

Barber explained to the council Thursday that her agency had followed the letter of the law, putting an announcement in a local newspaper and sending letters to the congressional delegation. She said the agency received no feedback during the public comment period so she decided to delay public meetings until after a contract for the decommissioning was awarded.

"So your short answer why you didn't come to Galveston is what?" Councilman Tarris Woods asked.

Barber replied that congressional and state representatives were notified.

Jodie Bevil was one of six Galveston residents who urged the city council to seek an environmental impact statement or to oppose the project outright.

She said the Sturgis could be damaged by a storm during its 2,000-mile journey under tow from its berth near Newport News, Va. , to Galveston .

Bevil cited a Corps of Engineers report about the Sturgis being damaged in the 1970s when it was towed from the Panama Canal Zone to Virginia . The damage allowed a radiation leak that had to be shored up, she said.

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