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<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>Westlands
discusses nuclear plants<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>The <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Fresno</st1:City></st1:place> Bee- 8/19/08<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>By Dennis Pollock <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><!-- START /pubsys/assets/common/related_content.comp --><!-- no related content to display --><!-- no related content to display --><!-- no gallery to display --><!-- no PDFs to display --><!-- no related content to display --><!-- no AP video related content to display --><!-- no related content to display --><!-- no poll to display --><!-- no related content to display --><!-- no gallery to display --><!-- no related content to display --><!-- END /pubsys/assets/common/related_content.comp --><!-- begin /pubsys/assets/ad_components/textads_storylevel_ibox.comp | add section no. to this to make text ads disappear -->Fresno
Nuclear Energy Group LLC on Tuesday signed a letter of intent with the
Westlands Water District to discuss the possibility of building two
1,600-megawatt nuclear power plants on 500 acres in the district. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>John Hutson, the
company's president, said the district would choose the site. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Hutson said that, under
the proposal, a desalinization facility, powered by the plants, would be built
"to supply clean, reliable water to the farmers on the west side." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font><!-- no related content to display --></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Ground water in the
district is plagued by salts that include selenium and boron. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>State law bans any new
nuclear power plants until the federal government approves a process for the
permanent disposal of their spent fuel. A nuclear plant also would have to
clear several federal legal hurdles, most notably from the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Hutson has said he might
try to use a ballot initiative to overcome the state ban on new nuclear plants.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Sarah Woolf, a
spokeswoman for Westlands, said district officials met once with Hutson and
others involved in the project about two weeks ago. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>"The agreement says,
'Let's at least sit down and talk about it,' " she said, adding that one
challenge would be obtaining enough water to cool the energy plant. "We
made it clear that we're water short. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white'><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>"Our interest is if
we could create a desalinization plant, we could power it with nuclear energy
that would make it more cost effective." <st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State>
has two active nuclear plants: Diablo Canyon, near <st1:City w:st="on">San Luis
Obispo</st1:City>, and San Onofre, between <st1:City w:st="on">San Diego</st1:City>
and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:City></st1:place>.
Woolf said it would be "at best" 10 years before anything could be
built.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><em><i><font size=3 color=gray
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker</span></font></i></em></st1:PersonName><em><i><font color=gray
face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'>, JCT</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Friends of <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity
River</st1:place>, Chair</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on"><em><i><font
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray'>PO Box</span></font></i></em></st1:Street><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'> 2327</span></font></i></em></st1:address><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><em><i><font
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray'>Mill Valley</span></font></i></em></st1:City><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'>, <st1:State w:st="on">CA</st1:State>
<st1:PostalCode w:st="on">94942-2327</st1:PostalCode></span></font></i></em></st1:place><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810 </span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 519 4810 cell</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net">bwl3@comcast.net</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org">bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="http://www.fotr.org">www.fotr.org</a> </span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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