AEHI official refutes comments made in Hooley letter

Dear editor:

After Diana Hooley's Jan. 21 opinion, both my company and Dr. Ralph Bennett, Idaho National Laboratory, wrote letters correcting the misinformation in her letter to the Mountain Home News editor.

After reading her most recent letter to the editor and learning she is a Hammett resident, it is apparent she opposes the plant since it is proposed in the vicinity of her residence.

Therefore, it is understandable that she is writing letters trying to sway people to her point of view. Unfortunately, the information she has conveyed is either inaccurate or short of information.

Before addressing her remarks, it may be helpful to look at the facts:

* For over 50 years, Western designed nuclear power has had no deaths or injury from radiation, the industry has one of the lowest lost time accident records of any US industry

* 85 percent of the people who live within 10 miles of a US nuclear think they are safe and would like to see more nuclear plants built, not to mention studies that indicate this group is also healthier than the average population.

* There are 104 nuclear plants in the US and the vast majority are on rivers and lakes in rural communities surrounded by farms and ranches with no negative impact on anything including water sources.

* The plant will make Elmore County, like other rural counties with nuclear plants, one of the more affluent counties in the state with high paying jobs and a dramatically improved infrastructure without the traffic and crime of most urban areas.

Correction or clarification points to Ms Hooley's April 1st opinion:

* I am concerned as to why Ms. Hooley thinks so little of her fellow Elmore citizens by indicating they could only qualify for janitorial jobs or less. Our company is accepting resumes of Elmore residents early to determine what additional training we need to provide. We have found it beneficial to hire locally to reduce turn over and retraining costs. Unlike Ms. Hooley, we believe the local citizens would want an opportunity to make an average of $60,000 in construction and $80,000 during operations. The sheer number of resumes received from Elmore County indicates residents really want this opportunity.

* This plant will be the biggest project in Elmore County since the Air Force base was built. It will have a 60-year life, at least two generations of employment.

* Ms. Hooley speculates on when jobs will become available with no interaction with AEHI or industry experience in these matters. AEHI will begin hiring this year if the rezone and the Conditional Use Permit are approved as requested.

* She correctly lists some of the organizations that must have input on the plant process; we interacted with most of the Idaho organizations while on our Owyhee site; the plant does not pose a significant concern from their feedback. Our senior management team has 40 years of experience dealing with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and its predecessor the Atomic Energy Commission. We therefore are confident we can obtain federal approval...after all, the country is anxious to get these plants due to the national power shortage.

* No US companies have the funds to build a nuclear plant no matter their size; we all must obtain financing, but federal loan guarantees encourage lenders to get involved.

* Our plant costs are born by investors and not ratepayers, so cost is a risk the company takes. Like most market-based companies, we must be competitive to survive.

* Like AREVA, all French companies are at least partially government owned...it is essentially a socialist state. Most US nuclear plants are investor owned.

* Advanced nuclear plant construction has taken 39 to 50 months not 10 years as suggested.

It is puzzling that a responsible Elmore citizen would put her self-interest above the much needed jobs, energy and economic development this plant would bring to the community. A recent visit to the VFW in Glenns Ferry by our staff showed people picking up donated food to provide for their families. Making a touching and compelling case for the need for new jobs in Elmore County...

We must put families first!

Respectfully,

Jennie Ransom

AEHI Spokesperson