TVA meets opinionated public

In this mention

TVA held a public meeting to discuss long-range planning, with focus on conservation and nuclear power. Public commenters, including Tennessee Environmental Council board member John Noel III, called for greater TVA transparency and questioned the economic viability of completing Watts Bar Unit 1. Similar meetings are planned across the Tennessee Valley region.

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TVA meets opinionated public
Conversations focus on conservation, nuclear power plants

plant Unit 1 that is almost complete
in the long-range planning process.
This would mean investigating
whether it is economically a good
idea to finish.

"Open TVA's doors to real and
full accountability," said John Noel
III, a board member of the Tennes-
see Environmental Council.

A smattering of applause fol-
lowed, the only applause in a meet-
ing that included a couple of out-
bursts when spectators felt they
were being ignored, and also a little
testiness from Eimendorf when peo-
ple grew too wordy for the time
allotted.

Noel said later that TVA over the
years has shut itself off from the
public. Opening its books to public
inspection could result in the agen-
cy's taking a different route than
nuclear power, several people said.

Nuclear power costs too much in
terms of building plants, dealing
with hazardous waste and then shut-
ting down the plants, different peo-
ple said.

Tom Phillips suggested that Watts
Bar Unit 1 near Dayton, Tenn.,
should never have been started up
as a means to save money.

"Once you turn the key, you in-
cur a $1 billion cleanup cost down
the road. If we have to have nucle-
ar plants, just stick to using the ones
that have already been contaminat-
ed."

Similar meetings will be held
around the Tennessee Valley re-
gion. Public hearings will be held in
the future.