Joseph Lassiter asks: Why does U.S. significantly lag in deployment of new nuclear energy technologies ... by gimleteye

Click here, to watch a short and informative video clip by Joe Lassiter, on new nuclear energy technologies and the clear failure of the United States to launch the kind of ambitious industrial/ technology programs that could quickly deploy new, safe nuclear to replace fossil fuel combustion that is destroying the sustainability of the planet's climate.

We have literally zero time to spare, given the massive disruption to the climate through global warming. Clear here, for just one recent example.

Under Trump -- unless the president-elect reverses course on his dismissive attitude toward global warming -- the United States will not only become an outlier and pariah nation on climate change, we will also surrender economic opportunity and jobs through new energy technologies to the Chinese who are surging ahead of us in deployment of new nuclear. Is that what Trump voters and Republicans want?

Turkey Point Nuke Water From a Closed System, Found at High Levels in Biscayne Bay. By Geniusofdespair

Aging Plant

Nuclear Power Radiation tainted water is spreading into Biscayne Bay.

Miami Dade County has found tritium in Biscayne Bay. The level in canals at the Nuke plant is at 215 times normal levels and almost the same levels have been found in our aquatic preserve, Biscayne Bay according to the Miami Herald:

"...water sampling in December and January found tritium levels up to 215 times higher than normal in ocean water. The report doesn’t address risks to the public or marine life but tritium is typically monitored as a “tracer” of nuclear power plant leaks or spills. County staff concluded the findings are “the most compelling evidence” that canal water has spread into the bay.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article64667452.html#storylink=cpy

The study comes two weeks after a Tallahassee judge ordered the utility and the state to clean up the nuclear plant’s cooling canals after concluding that they had caused a massive underground saltwater plume to migrate west, threatening a wellfield that supplies drinking water to the Florida Keys. The judge also found the state failed to address the pollution by crafting a faulty management plan.

This latest test, critics say, raise new questions about what they’ve long suspected: That canals that began running too hot and salty the summer after FPL overhauled two reactors to produce more power could also be polluting the bay."

Live Near the plant? Keep those Iodide Tablets handy....

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Hearing in Homestead, continues today ... by gimleteye

Yesterday in Homestead Florida, there was an extraordinary public hearing involving the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (The hearing continues today. See yesterday's post for further info.) It was extraordinary although one would need a super-wide angle lens to capture anything out of the ordinary.

The setting: a Hampton Suites Inn by the side of the Florida Turnpike. The Hampton Inn -- the first mid-price national hotel chain to begin offering a free continental breakfast and free local phone calls -- sits in former farmland covered to insta-gro sprawl. There are no landmarks to memorialize the battle to protect the areas zoning that once stretched from the Turnpike to the edge of the nearby, once pristine waters of Biscayne National Park a few miles away. It is all Denny's, Waffle House, and strip malls plus, a few miles away sequestered on thousands of acres of wetlands two nuclear reactors owned and operated by one of the nation's most powerful corporations, Florida Power and Light.

In the lobby of the Hampton Inn, incidental travelers pay bills, children rub sleep out of their eyes or are already transfixed, thumbing hand held computer games, while the adults complain or gather coffee and free complimentary breakfasts, busy and oblivious to a small sign indicating direction of a conference room and "NRC Hearing".

Inside the conference room, a raised dais covered in white tablecloth, microphones and computer screens await three judges from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. On the level below, a court reporter. An information technology specialist. A row for the hearing participants. On one side, three representatives of Florida Power and Light -- a monopoly that supplies electricity to South Florida. Sitting next to them, the single expert witness for citizen plaintiffs of C.A.S.E.; a local grass roots group, Citizens Alliance for Safe Energy. On the other side of FPL representatives, staff members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission whose work -- an environmental assessment of the FPL application to up-rate its Turkey Point nuclear reactors, Units 3 and 4 -- has been challenged by CASE. In a row behind these participants: on one side, two representatives of CASE and a team of NRC attorneys representing NRC staff.


There is also an armed deputy in the room, according to the advice and warning of the presiding judge -- Michael Gibson* -- that no members of the public can bring weapons into the hearing room. So 2016.

There are no members of the public in the hearing room, perhaps an even more extraordinary point since what is at risk and the purpose of the hearing involves the massive volume of fresh or partly salty water that FPL has been permitted to withdraw from the drinking water supply serving all of Miami-Dade County. Few people understand or know that because FPL's cooling canals for its nuclear reactors at Turkey Point have failed, the corporation sought and obtained permission from the state of Florida to pump water as a way of putting out the "fire" in the cooling canals whose temperature was allowed to rise to 100 degrees.

The state of Florida regulates how much water Miami-Dade County, Florida's largest, is allowed to withdraw safely from the aquifer. Today, nearly half the allowed withdrawals -- about 360 million gallons per day -- are allocated to FPL for the corporation to cool its superheated canal system; a 168 mile looped system like a gargantuan car radiator -- that is failing its purposes designed in the 1960's and implemented by FPL in the 1970's.

FPL has gone to extraordinary lengths, over a period spanning decades, to obscure from the public and from state investigators the extent to which the cooling canal system has failed, and yet the company sought and obtained from the NRC approval a few years ago to "up-rate" and to produce more power from the aging facility. FPL -- which markets to its ratepayers the reliability of low-cost energy it supplies as a way to garner public good will -- is also in the process of obtaining approval for two new nuclear reactors at Turkey Point, and if those reactors are approved by the NRC, Turkey Point would be the largest nuclear reactor facility in the United States.

Operating nuclear power facilities is extraordinarily complex, and the two dozen or so judges employed by the NRC are testament to the difficulties administering how producing nuclear power reveals through laws of unintended consequences.

For example, FPL has based another part of its marketing strategy on what a good steward it is of the environment. It showcases an endangered species, the American crocodile, that nests and breeds in the Turkey Point cooling canals. One of the unintended consequences of the up-rate sought by FPL and approved by the NRC is that it doesn't breed there, anymore.

The main unintended consequence that the NRC staff ignored or sped past in its environmental assessment, required by federal law, is the impact of highly saline water from the canals, sinking through the aquifer and spreading in all directions to eventually threaten drinking water supplies in South Dade, farmland, outstanding state waters and a national park.

It is taking an extraordinary effort to surface these concerns to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Public involvement is regulated by a set of arcane rules and meeting the threshold for those rules is no walk in the park. But for C.A.S.E., and the three citizens participating in the Homestead hearing -- Barry White, Michael Hatcher, and Philip Stoddard (a FIU professor of biology and mayor of South Miami) -- the FPL "up-rate" plan that required the allowable temperature in the cooling canals to be raised from 100 to 104 degrees would have sailed through.

CASE leaders, left to right: Barry White and Michael Hatcher

Three citizens pitted against one of the most powerful corporations in the nation. The subtle demonstration of that power is the absence of expert witnesses in support of the citizens; from Miami-Dade County, or the state of Florida, or the federal agency that is charged with protecting America's national parks, the U.S. Department of Interior, or any of the fully staffed environmental organizations like the Everglades Foundation whose headquarters directly overlook a deeply threatened Biscayne National Park.

That is how defending the environment works in 2016, in the United States of America. And that is extraordinary.



From the website of the NRC: Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel Members

Michael M. Gibson
B.A., University of Oklahoma (1972)
J.D., University of Oklahoma College of Law (1975)
Judge Gibson was appointed to the Panel as a full time legal member in July 2008. Previously, Judge Gibson served as lead trial counsel in complex environmental and toxic tort litigation for both private companies and the Environmental Protection Agency during a span of thirty years. The Chambers US Directory, which lists the top lawyers in the United States based on independent professional research, listed Judge Gibson as an expert in the field of environmental law. Judge Gibson also taught environmental law and policy as an adjunct professor. He has published numerous law review articles on environmental law, as well as a treatise, Environmental Regulation of Petroleum Spills and Wastes (John Wiley & Sons 1993; supp. 1994; Supp. 1995). His legal experience includes serving with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1975-1982), the U.S. Justice Department (1983-1987), and as a partner with several law firms including Jones Day (1987-2008).

My Conspiracy Theory on DEEPEST Injection Well in Florida now being dug at Virginia Key. By Geniusofdespair

Typical Injection Well --- NOT 2 MILES

I have my own theory on why they are digging the deepest injection well in Florida's history at Virginia Key, 10,000 feet deep (two miles almost). There is is one in Tampa to about 8,000 feet dug by TECO Energy.

Water and Sewer Department says they are exploring the geology to find out if any formation below the Boulder Zone is better for injection of treated effluent. Hmm. I don't believe that for a minute (unless of course they already know it will leak at shallower levels).

Here is my theory, remember an energy company did the one in Tampa. I think this very deep well is being dug with our tax dollars for the benefit of gathering data for Florida Power and Light's Nuke Plant's injection wells. Or maybe worse: Fracking Crap.

I originally saw the drill rig in July at Virginia Key.

After they dig the deepest well in Florida and data is collected the well will be plugged. The injection well they will use goes to about 3,000 below the land surface and they will be injecting a mix of secondary treated effluent, leachate from the landfill and process water. That would be into the boulder zone.

How safe is injecting waste underground (there are 680,000 injection wells nationwide):

"In interviews, several key experts acknowledged that the idea that injection is safe rests on science that has not kept pace with reality, and on oversight that doesn’t always work.

“In 10 to 100 years we are going to find out that most of our groundwater is polluted,” said Mario Salazar, an engineer who worked for 25 years as a technical expert with the EPA’s underground injection program in Washington. “A lot of people are going to get sick, and a lot of people may die.”

There is also Fracturing Threats: see The Pitfalls of Florida's Karst Geology and industrial scale application of aquifer storage and recovery wells. Last but not least we get those pesky earthquakes.

Human Induced earthquakes from deep well injection

Here is the scoop on the wells in Tampa dug by TECO:

Eye on Miami's Saturday Editorial Page: Turkey Point Hearings - Special Taxing Districts Op Ed. By Gimleteye and Geniusofdespair

Eye on Miami has replaced the Saturday Editorial Page of the Miami Herald - They do not have one

 
One of the very few chances for the public to be heard on the expansion of FPL Turkey Point and $24 billion of new nuclear reactors at sea level By Gimleteye

Mayors of three important South Florida municipalities (Tomas Regalado, City of Miami, Philip Stoddard, City of South Miami, and Cindy Lerner, Mayor of Pinecrest) are taking the lead in opposing the expansion of FPL's Turkey Point nuclear reactors. 

The public has very few opportunities to directly address the "deciders" on whether or not to allow the FPL plan to move forward. Here are two meetings and information related to public comments. Please take time to read the Environmental Impact Statement and comment directly on that document through the links provided below.

Turkey Point Nuclear Expansion: Meeting Information

These meetings will be hosted by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Hearing in Miami, Florida

When: Wednesday, April 22, 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.

Where: Florida International University 
Stadium Club Room 
FIU Stadium 
11200 S.W. 8th Street, Miami

Hearings in Homestead, Florida

When: Thursday, April 23
First Session: 1:30-4:30 p.m. 
Second Session: 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.

Where: Hampton Inn and Suites 
Miami-South/Homestead 
Reef Room 
2855 N.E. 9th Street, Homestead, Florida 33033

Turkey Point Nuclear Expansion: Public Comment

By law the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission must take public comments into account. Public comments will be accepted until May 22, 2015.

Email: 

TurkeyPoint.COLEIS@nrc.gov

Mail:

Re: NUREG-2176

Cindy Bladey, 

Office of Administration 
Mail Stop: OWFN 12 H8 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Washington, DC 20555–000

These meetings and comments are part of the federal licensing process and related to the recently released draft Environmental Impact Statement, available online at:

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr2176/. This information is also online at the City of Miami’s website at: http://tinyurl.com/MiamiNuclearMeeting

GUEST OP ED - CARLOS GIMENEZ COST CUTTING AND CONSOLIDATION CAUSES DEFICITS IN SPECIAL TAXING DISTRICTS

A special taxing district is a mechanism used by communities, wherein property owners elect to pay special assessments levied on their properties in order to receive public services and/or improvements, which could not otherwise conveniently or equitably be provided.

In Miami-Dade County some of these services include, but are not limited to:
Street lighting, Security guard services, Guard houses, Lake maintenance."

The Public Works and Waste Management department controls Special Taxing District funds. The section was headed by Don Tok for many years. The rates of each district were reviewed every year according to cost and growth.

In 2011 when Mayor Carlos Gimenez merged the Public Works and Solid Waste Departments he promoted a group of Solid Waste employees that included a Director  (now Miramar City Manager), Assistant Director  and  a Chief. The listed individuals were put in place by Gimenez for political reasons and many think were not qualified to oversee the finances of the newly created department.

Assistant Director Chris Rose chose to maintain low or cut rates on the Special Taxing Districts without permission from the County Attorney's Office to make Gimenez look as a mayor intent on cutting taxes. The result is that after 3 years of low rates there is a multi million dollar deficit of Special Taxing District funds and an ongoing analysis has uncovered the comingling of funds from different Special Taxing districts- something strictly prohibited by county ordinance. As a result, today Don Tok is being forced to resign and Alina Hudak could also be forced to resign. Rose has already left the county to City of Miami and he is not acknowledging responsibility for the deficit of funds.

A meeting was held Friday 4:30 pm with the Mayor, Kathy Jackson Director of Audit, and Alina Hudak also AD's from the Public Works Dept. as they tried to find a solution to the deficit  problem. 

According to department employees, the Section  has been running on "cooked" numbers for the last three years.

Example: A district where citizens paid $5,000.00 in special taxes had their service cut to $1,000.00 and now the taxes must be raised to $9,000.00.

The backlash of this deficit will upset citizens from every area of the county. Do you have a guard booth? It will effect you.  This incident has occurred due to the promotion of what I think are unqualified employees and for political reasons by a mayor intent on "cutting taxes" as a reelection tool.

The Best of Miami Herald's Jim Morin this week.

Gossip or Truth?

The Miami Dade County Aviation Department is about to finalize a $7.5 million deal in Tuesday's committee meeting by the commissioners approving the deal. The system awarded was never tested at the requirements from the airport. The FAA will do its due diligence since it is funding the majority of the project. Once they find that the system has not been tested and the FOD detection system has shown that it can not perform to the standards required FAA will then pull the funding and MDAD will come to the county to bail them out. (comment left on our blog)

South Florida Residents Fleeced by Florida Power and Light (Next Error). By Geniusofdespair

As of January 2015 your rates went up on your FPL Bill. For instance, my bill has increased by about $11.

If you can't read the fine print it says: This rates summary reflects rates and charges approved by the Florida Public Service Commission. These are the biographies of the Commissioners.

Be sure to call them and thank them, especially for charging us for the nuke plants before they are built. Notice there are 2 nuclear charges.

Miscellaneous Charges on My January Bill - I Do Not Understand Any of These Charges and That is a Good Thing....for Next Error (really Next Era) the Parent Company.  Keep the People in the Dark.

View the full list of charges online.

Miami-Dade now offers Tourists a Hot Spring to soak in. By Geniusofdespair

You don't have to go searching around for a hot spring anymore. Just opened: the posh Turkey Point Springs (actually the Turkey Point cooling canals for two nuclear reactors). Forget about all those other hot springs, this one has the added rejuvenating powers of having gone through nuclear reactors. What could be better for your health then a cauldron of...lets face it -- who knows what. It was reported today the cooling canals over there are even hotter, sometimes 102 degrees...too hot to cool the reactors. They are taking water meant for Biscayne Bay to try not to fry the reactors:

“After Oct. 15 is when we don’t have the regular flows and that’s when we get really concerned that you’re going to get salinity rising and problems spiraling,” said Jane Graham, an Everglades policy analyst for Audubon Florida.

The decision to pump the 100 million gallons will be an important test of district rules designed to protect water, Graham said.

So get on over there to Turkey Point for the restorative water, just ask the crocodiles. They love it.

Something is wrong at FPL nuclear at Turkey Point, or, "the color of green", part two … by gimleteye

Serious problems in the operation of FPL existing nuclear reactors at Turkey Point are casting shadows on the corporation's ambitious plan to add two new nuclear reactors on its 11,000 acre facility later this decade. The problem is water.

Water in massive quantities is required to cool nuclear reactors. In the state of Florida, the South Florida Water Management District has been the controlling agency for interaction with FPL at Turkey Point (FPL is the dominant subsidiary of NextEra, Inc.). The District -- its governing board is appointed by the governor of Florida -- has signed numerous agreements with FPL on the operation of the existing reactors, called unit three and unit four.

While there has been considerable public attention on the recent decision by the governor and cabinet to approve the siting of the two new nuclear reactors, unit six and unit seven, with attendant anxieties about the placement of new high voltage power lines in population centers and transit corridors like US 1, there has been less attention on the water requirements -- including emergency back up systems that would draw directly from the waters of Biscayne National Park through a bicycle spoke-like system of radial wells placed offshore.

The problem for FPL and its new designs for Turkey Point is that its plan is being undermined by its own broken promises and manifest failures to control highly damaging cooling water from its two nuclear reactors.

Before completing environmental studies required by federal law as a condition of final approval of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, FPL needs to "fix" the serious -- severe -- problems in the cooling canals serving units four and five. "Fixing", some might infer involves correcting environmental problems the corporation has pledged to do through its binding legal agreement with the water management district.

But the environmental problems are so complicated, they may NEVER be fixed at units four and five.

Units Four and Five were permitted in 1972, more than forty years ago. Environmental groups, like Friends of the Everglades and Sierra Club, disrupted the FPL plan to dump its super-heated cooling water directly into Biscayne National Park by agreeing, after extensive litigation, to a 168-mile network of canals shaped like a massive radiator coil that would -- the thinking went at the time -- isolate super hot cooling water before it filtered out into outstanding state waters and into the national park.

By the mid-2000's, despite the best efforts of FPL to obstruct data collection and analysis, evidence of serious problems in the performance of the cooling canals rose to the surface of discussions -- if not exactly in the public eye -- within the staff of scientists and engineers at the local county and state level charged with protecting the public interest. For example, trace amounts of a radioactive isotope called tritium, created through the nuclear power generation process, began to be discovered in the water table far to the west of the nuclear plant.

At the same time that proof emerged that FPL had broken its binding legal agreement to keep cooling water in the canals, it moved aggressively to quarantine data and discussion whether the tritium movement also predicted serious and even permanent contamination of the drinking water supply in South Dade.

It is not clear exactly when the corporation discovered that it had even bigger problems IN the water quality for the cooling canal. The canal operates in a kind of top secret zone, and but for the fact that the nuclear facility is literally perched on the edge of a national park, the corporation would have little reason to disclose its environmental problems. To the contrary, every piece of marketing material approved by FPL on its Turkey Point facility emphasizes environmental responsibility and stewardship. Its "good neighbor" approach is literally blasted at the public, linking to endangered species like the American crocodile in the canal itself as a point of pride.

The problem is a highly toxic, invasive growth of algae bloom is blooming in the canal and no amount of lawyering can make it go away. In the few emails that have leaked out, the problem is described by the state as so dire that it could force the shutdown of the nuclear plant operations.

There are plenty of unanswered questions. For example, the application of 1920's technology -- the application of copper to destroy the algae bloom -- is also highly toxic. There is also the question of the algae bloom itself; what is the nature of its toxicity -- -- is this just a bad actor for crocodiles or can people die from it -- and whether the corporation is allowing the algae bloom it caused to spread into Biscayne National Park, an entity long regarded as one of the most threatened national parks in the nation.

There is a lot of science that could be done, that is not being done. There is a race to get the lawyering ahead of what is happening; kind of like spreading copper dust to make the facts disappear. Sadly the state of Florida appears all to complicit in this endeavor, thanks to FPL's all-in support for Governor Rick Scott in a hotly contested November election.

Why this is so urgent has little to do with reasonable concerns for the environment, the air we breathe, or water we drink. The FPL tactics have a lot more to do with its forthcoming environmental impact statement for two new nuclear reactors that FPL and its lawyers already decided must fit the case for Wall Street and for executive compensation.

(See Part 1)

Something is wrong at FPL's Turkey Point Nuclear … by gimleteye

Florida Power and Light's water quality problems at its Turkey Point nuclear facility are well established by the record of inaction and the failure of the state of Florida to stop FPL's hyper-saline coolant water traveling underground, in the direction of Homestead and Florida City population centers, from the Turkey Point cooling canal system (CCS).

Now there is another issue, requiring extraordinary measures to keep the nuclear reactors working. Apparently, severe algae blooms in the plant's cooling canals are threatening the plant operation. In the last few weeks, a flurry of correspondence between the South Florida Water Management District and Biscayne National Park have disclosed anxiety about the solutions proposed by FPL and accepted by the state without public input: the massive application of chemical treatment and the emergency use of deep aquifer water to cool down the water before it enters Biscayne National Park.

In its original plans for the two nuclear reactors, FPL had intended to dump its very hot, saline coolant water directly into Biscayne National Park. A lawsuit and intervention by environmental groups resulted in an important FPL concession to water quality concerns. The nuclear facility is required to operate hundreds of miles of cooling canals under an agreement with the state agency, the South Florida Water Management District.

Part of the agreement is the assurance by FPL to monitor and to mitigate any performance failures of the cooling canals. Although FPL successfully maintains its "good neighbor" marketing program to the public, it has been less than truthful about significant problems in containing the canals' hyper saline water.

According to its website FPL is a really good environmental steward, "About nine-tenths of the Turkey Point property remains in its natural state of mangroves and fresh water wetlands. There are more than 60 known species of birds and animals that inhabit the property. Of these, 17 are endangered. The endangered American crocodile enjoys a favorable habitat in the plant cooling canal system. We protect the crocodile and conduct research by counting crocodile nests annually to record population changes. More than 3,000 crocodiles have been marked and released, and FPL is committed to continuing protection of the species while encouraging ongoing public education. This program and the plant's unique habitat for crocodiles has attracted national attention by CNN Headline News, Disney and National Geographic."

Perhaps CNN Headline News ought to report the June 25 correspondence from the acting superintendent of Biscyane National Park, George McHugh,

"... We are concerned about water quality in the Turkey Point cooling canals and the apparent ongoing trend in decreasing water quality. We would like to know the status of investigations and negotiations that may be in process to evaluate the issues associated with poor water quality in the cooling canals. We would like to see further investigation and review by a multi-agency technical team to understand the apparently broad poor water quality trends, their source, and potential solutions. Given that the cooling canal area has hydrologic connections to surrounding groundwater and thus surface waters, including Biscayne National Park, we see this as a critical water quality issue for the Park. We believe that this phenomena and any resulting actions by Florida Power and Light with respect to addressing water quality on site at the Turkey Point Power Plant site, including treatment to plant structures, should be reviewed by the regulatory agencies responsible for oversight. These agencies would include but not be limited to Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), Miami-Dade County Regulatory and Economic Resources (RER), U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission."

On July 11th, the South Florida Water Management District responded in its typical style of scrubbing bad news: first, decline to admit there is any data revealing environmental problems then acknowledge extraordinary measures are being taken to address the problems that might have sprung up from nowhere: "A review of several years’ worth of data collected under the monitoring program has not indicated any adverse impacts to the waters of Biscayne Bay from the CCS (FPL cooling canal system). As your staff is aware, monitoring data has shown that hypersaline water from the CCS has migrated westward at depth in the groundwater. (EOM italics) The Department and the SFWMD have put FPL on notice that abatement measures must be implemented and we anticipate issuance of an Administrative Order in the near future to address these issues. (EOM note: foot-dragging by FPL and the corporation's refusal to substantively correct violations of its agreement with the state has gone on for many years.)

FPL recently has reached out to a number of agencies for assistance, including the Department, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and SFWMD, regarding a recent increase in CCS water temperature, which has been exacerbated by the presence of algae blooms in the canal. Agency staff inspections of the facility in response to reports of the current algae bloom indicate the bloom is limited to the CCS itself. It is not unusual for wastewater treatment ponds to exhibit algae growth in the hot summer months--hot weather and lack of rainfall likely have contributed to the bloom.

The current severity of the bloom and its potential impact on FPL’s ability to generate electricity for South Florida required immediate actions to be taken. To that end, on June 27 the Department approved FPL’s request to use a combination of copper sulfate, hydrogen peroxide and bio-stimulants (copper sulfate blend) in the CCS to address the current algae bloom; which are commonly used to treat algae blooms in aquatic systems. ... Also on June 27, the SFWMD supported FPL’s request to temporarily use groundwater from the Floridan Aquifer that had previously been permitted for use as process and process cooling water, to decrease the temperature in the CCS. (EOM emphasis) This support was memorialized in an amendment to Turkey Point’s site license, issued by the Siting Coordination Office. ... FPL will continue to evaluate the causes of the recent algae bloom and CCS temperature increase, and will identify, develop, and implement a more long term solution."

It is remarkable for the state to first admit that FPL is failing to meet its obligations in the first instance with respect to groundwater violations -- while completely avoiding why it has failed to enforce against the corporation -- and then to immediately take the corporation's side in assuring that the corporations will be responsible sometime in the future on problems with the cooling water in the canal system itself.

The use of Floridan aquifer water is of particular concern because Miami-Dade County has dumped billions of gallons of scarcely treated municipal wastewater into the Florida aquifer only a few miles away through so-called "injection control wells". The South Dade Wastewater Treatment facility -- only a few miles from Turkey Point -- takes the torrent of used water filled with human discharges, water from cruise ships, waste from industrial and hospital applications, from mortuaries to kitchens to satisfy demands for low-cost growth for construction and the massive development of population centers while maintaining a scrim of environmental responsibility. At the bare minimum, FPL and the state of Florida should report to the public exactly the water quality statistics and data from the use of Floridan water and regularly update the public on the FPL emergency.

CNN and news organizations should also report this issue in the context of FPL's ambitions to build two new nuclear reactors at the lowest-lying, most climate-change threatened area of coastline in the nation. Although the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ought to consider the new permits -- due for consideration by 2016 after an EIS is completed -- in the context of severe problems with the operation of the existing nuclear reactors at Turkey Point, so far these issues have been segregated as though they were in their own cooling canals waiting for the critics to melt away.

Moneyball in Miami Dade County Elections … by gimleteye and Geniusofdespair

Notice how FPL attempts to influence political outcomes. Because the barn doors were blown of the hinges on campaign contributions by the Bush Supreme Court, there is nothing that prohibits corporations from filling campaign war chests to whatever dollar value they choose.

Nominally, there are still limits for individual contributions by corporations ("corporations are people, too"), but in fact corporations like FPL with major regulatory issues that require approval by either politicians or their appointees (to places like the Public Utilities Commission in the state or Nuclear Regulatory Commission in DC) are able to funnel unlimited amounts through dark channels, hidden from public view.

Corporations make contributions that require public disclosure -- like this one by FPL to a political committee -- for only one reason: to make an impression.

The impression, here, is that Jorge Lopez swings the FPL bat. So when Jorge Lopez cruises by, he might as well have big decal affixed to his lapel: "I represent FPL and if you don't do what I want you to, I can't protect you from FPL's wrath."

Of course, FPL has to be careful. Its strategy, when it is too obvious or blatant like the city elections in South Miami has backfired. There, Jorge Lopez et al. attempted the kinds of dirty tricks that finally repulse voters. South Miami Mayor Philip Stoddard is strongly supported by voters because he opposes the FPL leviathan.

Now the county commission data for campaign contributions, released recently, demonstrate other phenomena. A few jump out. For example, with no opposition Pepe Diaz and Jean Monestine (first time incumbent) have raised a ton of money. "Thank you's".

The advantage of incumbency is clear.

The money comes, of course, mainly from special interests who do business with the county. We haven't checked with a fine tooth comb if all the contributions are "legal". We find, sometimes, that contributors have so little regard for campaign finance limits that they will write multiple checks from the same account or even from defunct businesses.

The only hotly contested race is the race for county commission District 8 where incumbent Lynda Bell faces Daniella Levine Cava. That's the one to watch.

The Mile Wide Question: Why did the City of Coral Gables sell out to FPL? … by gimleteye

Gov. Rick Scott and his Cabinet flipped the switch to new nuclear power plants at Turkey Point in less than two minutes yesterday, after years of contentious battles between communities, civic groups, and opponents of FPL. Although the battle is not over, by surrendering the state to FPL, Gov. Rick Scott significantly harmed the interest of property owners and the concerns of residents within a 1 mile corridor along US 1, one of the most heavily trafficked and populated areas of the state.

Scott didn't utter a word as the vote was put on a tee. He sat on the dais swiveling a smiley face as two of his officers, Adam Putnam and Pam Biondi, said their scripted sentences. Breathtaking.

In earlier testimony, a representative of Homestead -- speaking in support of the new nuclear plants -- noted that Putnam was a friend of agriculture. Message, received. Check. The trade unions, the builders, and the Chambers of Commerce had all spoken their words of support in less than their allotted speaking time. Check.

Citizens fearful of loss of property values, the threat of electromagnetic field impacts to health, the visual blight of turning US 1 into an "industrial wasteland", and massive environmental impacts never had a chance. They didn't have a chance at the Miami-Dade County Commission, seven years ago. They didn't have a chance with the most tone deaf governor in Florida history, Rick Scott, yesterday.

FPL rolled them all.

Where voters and residents had a chance was with the unity of South Florida municipalities opposed to the project. But something happened in the hours leading up to yesterday's vote: the City of Coral Gables broke away from the City of Miami, of South Miami, and Pinecrest. That was a surprise.

Briefly, what happened was this: Florida DEP, representing the Governor, negotiated a condition that on its surface appeared to meet the concerns of the other municipalities -- that the power lines would not be built until the federal NRC approved the project. NRC approval will take at least another year to two years.

But the devil is always in the details, and it appears what the City of Coral Gables negotiated falls far short of protecting citizens from power lines on US 1.

In contrast, City of Miami attorney Victoria Mendez was crystal clear in her testimony to the Governor and Cabinet: there should be an iron-clad requirement that no power lines should be built at all until the NRC approval, and if the NRC disapproves the new nuclear power plants, FPL will be prohibited from building the lines or any part of the infrastructure leading up to construction of new transmission lines.

The condition accepted by the governor of course provides a degree of political cover.

Why did the City of Coral Gables break away, with a patently weak agreement? It is a question that needs to be answered.

In the Miami Herald, a representative from the City of Coral Gables said that he was only trying to do the best for the city, but what he did was sell residents and property owners down the FPL river.

Somehow, somewhere a deal was cut with FPL. If I were a city commissioner in Coral Gables, I would be furious. But maybe the back room deal involved them too.

The problem for people and for their elected representatives is that FPL is powerful. It is not just the money, although the money talks when it comes to electricity production and distribution in ways that drown the public interest.

The problem is incrementalism. FPL has managed to steam roller every government agency and legislature it comes up against. It does so because of "early cost recovery" that pits existing management and the money they earn -- their annual compensation -- against the interest of ratepayers and the public. It is not even close to being an even battle. Early cost recovery, as one observer noted on public radio, shifts the benefits to private shareholders of a public company and socializes the cost burden to the public and ratepayers.

The Miami Dade County Commission in 2007 had a chance to protect the public, when FPL asked for zoning changes critical to building the two new nuclear reactors. Commissioners had the chance to ask hard questions, like the ones that have still not been answered by FPL: what is the cost of new nuclear reactors in comparison to savings from massive new solar investments at the consumer level and incentivized conservation during a service lifetime when demand will dramatically shift.

Environmentalists and their concerns were swept aside like mosquitoes. FPL gets what it wants, more electricity production damn sea level rise and climate change. Voters failed to hold county commissioners accountable.

Yesterday the state of Florida ceded its leverage against FPL. It was depressing to hear the rote bleating of trade unions, again, violating the long term interests of their members.

The municipalities are headed to the 3rd District Court of Appeals, according to the Miami Herald's report; lead by the angered municipalities including the City of Miami, South Miami, and Pinecrest. Although the City of Coral Gables still has a lawsuit pending against FPL, insiders say it is weak and will not protect Coral Gables property owners. There may be an opportunity to revisit the massive, lengthy trial record of an administrative law judge last year, that provided the underpinning for yesterday's decision by the Governor.

In any case -- whether by NRC or appellate court -- yesterday's decision was a major victory for FPL. Within the mile wide corridor of US 1, there are many, many voters that Rick Scott needs in November. We will see how that works out.

Harvard Business School, Joe Lassiter, and Gimleteye: New nuclear must be part of the energy solution ... by gimleteye

There is a great divide between my enthusiastic support for Lassiter's position on new nuclear with my vehement opposition to new nuclear at Turkey Point by FPL. It is simple to explain.

My chief objection to new nuclear at Turkey Point -- besides being "old" nuclear according to Lassiter's analysis -- is that within the service lifetime of the two planned reactors -- to cost ratepayers more than $20 billion -- , sea level rise will present massive challenges to the survivability of FPL's rate base in Florida. Because of Turkey Point's location in low-lying flood plains -- the most vulnerable in the continental United States -- FPL should be planning to DECOMMISSION Turkey Point now, not spending hundreds of millions in (profitable) fruitless activities related to the expansion of nuclear, there.

What is even more irritating is that the ratepayers of Florida, thanks to the Florida legislature and its radical extremists, are required to fund the expansion through early cost recovery provisions that allow FPL and its key executives to handsomely profit by triggering this costly chase down the rabbit hole. The entire decision tree, including local government and lobbyists, profit mightily from the misdirection of public policies while sending environmentalists chasing in frantic circles. There ought to be a law and there ought to be enforcement ...

On the other hand, as Lassiter points out, the macro world energy economy cannot -- as many mainstream environmentalists claim -- survive by so-called sustainable sources of energy like wind or solar. On demand electricity means just that. Industrial societies like ours demand electricity and will not surrender its availability.

This means replacing coal-fired power at scale. The only source capable of instantly helping is natural gas. But fracking doesn't solve global warming problems: it delays the reckoning.

As Lassiter proposed, a massive public investment in new nuclear technologies belongs front and center in the energy mix. While I understand the comments made by many critics of Lassiter's article in the Harvard Business School press interview (read, below), just go to Alton Road at high tide today, park your car in the salt water rising above knee height, and realize that what is at risk with our indecision is everything that "works" now.


The Case for Combating Climate Change with Nuclear Power and Fracking

Joseph B. Lassiter explains why he believes that nuclear power and shale gas are on the right side of the fight against climate change, and why markets have a better shot at winning the fight than governments do.
by Carmen Nobel

If you ask any given environmentalist to identify the biggest threat to the planet, you may expect to hear about man-made climate change, consumerism, or overpopulation. But if you ask Harvard Business School's Joseph B. Lassiter, he'll toss in another: single-issue myopia...

Greenland, assessing nuclear energy in South Florida and sea level rise ... by gimleteye

I'm still shaking cobwebs from the twelve hour flight from Greenland in a single engine, cold airplane back to civilization. On Cape Cod it is early morning but very warm, the song birds are chirping, a crow caws in the distance, and the sun glints off the inlet where we are staying for a few days. All seems right with the world, but it is not.

Processing the images and realities of the melting ice cap on Greenland coincides nicely with yesterday's blog by Andy Revkin, who highlights the comments by the nation's top climate scientist, James Hansen, on the need for nuclear energy to supplant fossil fuels consumption in the near future.

I've written about this before, but with the complication that in south Florida, we have a desperate problem with the garguantuan Florida Power and Light, the sole provider of electricity to Miami.

FPL can claim, and does, that it is doing everything by the book with respect to its nuclear ambitions to expand and build two new nuclear reactors at Turkey Point, costing over $20 billion. In the meantime, it has steamrollered public involvement and especially local processes where enlightened discussion could elevate the deep and legitimate concerns of citizens who support nuclear but not at the location, Turkey Point, due to concerns about environmental impacts and sea level rise.

My strong objections to nuclear at Turkey Point are not simple NIMBY'ism. I have moved from a position of objecting to nuclear entirely to now believing that nuclear must play an immediate role in providing on-demand electricity that our society requires.

The overarching problem is that current permitting processing, laws, and regulations -- including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission -- are failing to bridge the substantial gaps between the adoption of new technologies, spent fuel storage problems, and siting issues for new nuclear plants. FPL sits in the middle of the morass, making enormous amounts of money for shareholders while at the same time holding itself up to be an upstanding corporate citizen providing an indispensable commodity while tolerating and even "bending backwards" to answer critics.

So it is strange, indeed, to call as I have, FPL a "rogue corporation" for its nuclear strong-arming at Turkey Point while also supporting nuclear energy as a necessary component for the future of civilization.

We have to explore these contradictions as a matter of high priority in public policy. Unfortunately, there seems to be no willingness by Congress to lead through the maze of complexities and instead, simply to default to the existing regulatory structures. We need seasoned, reasoned voices to add to this chorus because the rapidity of climate change is an undeniable threat to our national security. Read the Andy Revkin blog in the Times, here:

The NY Times blog by Andy Revkin, DOT EARTH, features a commentary on a recent interview by former NASA climate change scientist James Hansen, "Jim Hansen Presses the Climate Case for Nuclear Energy".



"I encourage you to watch this short video interview with climate scientist and campaigner James E. Hansen, posted by the folks who brought you “Pandora’s Promise,” the flawed but valuable film arguing for a substantial role for nuclear energy in sustaining human progress without disrupting the climate.

Almost 30,000 Gallons of Nuclear Contaminated Water Leaked at Fukushima in Japan. By Geniusofdespair

For all you nuke fans, read the latest from Fukushima nuclear disaster:

• A rat causing a power outage by short-circuiting a temporary switchboard.
• Another blackout occurring as workers install antirat nets.
• Holes in the linings of huge sunken reservoirs leaking radioactive water.

Tepco says none of the about 120 tons of radioactive water that leaked was believed to have reached the ocean. Experts suspect the radioactive water has been leaking from the plant since early on in the crisis, citing high contamination in fish caught just off the plant.

It is 2 years that this disaster has been playing out - since the 3 reactor cores melted in early March 2011.

Juan Zapata Weighs in on FPL Zoning Application to Build 2 Nukes. By Geniusofdespair

I asked County Commissioner Juan Zapata why he supported the FPL zoning application. He said that FPL had asked for the reuse back in 07. "The fact that Commissioner Moss supported FPL led me to give them the benefit of the doubt. It was a tough vote but FPL has little wiggle room in the future as far as I'm concerned."

Here is a video of Juan Zapata at the January 10th hearing. He made an interesting argument at the meeting, that we are taking water from our aquifer but sending the electricity generated elsewhere in South Florida. Zapata asked if the application gave FPL permission to tap into the aquifer, in fact, giving them permission that they didn't have before. Zapapta was told that was correct. That alone should have earned FPL a big fat no vote by Zapata and others. Good question but no results. We all should be asking: Why is FPL tapping into our aquifer? Maybe we should pay for a stadium for them while we are at it.



Link to video

The 2 Additional Nuclear Reactors at Turkey Point. By Gimleteye

Wow. Revisiting last week's testimony leading to the county commission vote to surrender its authority to FPL for the planned $30 billion in new nuclear reactors is like reading a Kafka novel, only to find that you are in the novel, as a character reading a Kafka novel if Kafka could have imagined nuclear power.

In 2007, FPL sought and obtained an unusual use permit from the county for two new nuclear reactors. If built, the South Dade facility would be one of the largest nuclear reactor sites in the nation. At the time, environmentalists (including me) complained that the county elected officials should not approve the permit without full disclosure how FPL intended to "cool" the planned nukes, pointing out that the cooling source for the existing nuclear reactors, called Unit Three and Unit Four, was causing massive salt water intrusion and pointing out that FPL had been stonewalling both the county and the South Florida Water Management District on the matter for years. By failing to address stipulated prevention of salt water intrusion, FPL was in violation of its legal agreement NOT to cause any disturbance to the sole source of drinking water for the southern part of the county and the Florida Keys in its entirety.

Why did FPL avoid disclosing any discussion of its cooling water plan for the new nukes in 2007? Because it could. Why did it push through its new proposed, highly speculative "radial collector wells" for two new nuclear reactors and a water treatment plant in "high quality wetlands" in 2013: because it could.

Because county commissioners--- just like the boyz who approved the multi billion dollar Marlins Stadium fiasco -- only pretend to protect the public health, welfare and safety of taxpayers, residents and visitors.

In other words, the county commissioners decided "we'll cross that bridge (cooling water) when we get there" even though you have to cross the bridge to get there.



Link to video -- this is not Mr. Grosso's full presentation.

Last week, Richard Grosso, an esteemed professor at Nova University Law School,  (seen in the revealing video above) assisted local environmental groups in presenting testimony at the recent county commission hearing on FPL's plan to build $30 billion in new nuclear reactors at its Turkey Point facility.

Mr. Grosso pointedly did not go back over the 2007 history, which otherwise might have confused the literal-minded commission. Mr. Grosso might have reminded the county commissioner that FPL -- far from being the good corporate citizen as one county commissioner (Pepe Diaz) pointed out -- has violated the agreement made to allow its existing nuclear reactors to continue operating, but that would have assumed the county commission has any memory of its past mistakes. But the county commission doesn't have any memory. Every day is a new day and every attempt to box out the special interests like FPL who dominate local government is an occasion for stiff reprimand behind the scenes.

If you only have a few minutes: start at minute 13:30 of the youtube video clip above of last week's meeting. (If you watch the entire clip, you will get a sense why environmentalists were upset; first for being the chance to air their complaints in a December hearing that was unceremoniously cut short when the commission lost its quorum, after FPL had testified. And then, last week, after a session that lasted most of the day, when it was clear the vote had been cooked.)

Mr. Grosso's questions expose the primary purpose of county staff: to hide behind and inside wriggle-room in legal language "protecting" the Everglades from decisions by local government. Everything is conditional. Nothing is fixed ... everything is subject to conditions so that at any time, a manager on a career track with a hefty pension can squirt out of making commitments to intent or with language that defies the narrow constraints of his or her job.

Mr. Grosso tries to get county staff to admit that the FPL plan cannot ensure existing protections for the environment. He doesn't get very far.

Highlights of  video:

Lee Hefty at 5:34 min. admits that in 2007, FPL did not
include "radial collector wells" in its application at the time for an
unusual use permit. FPL, in other words, was "hiding the bacon" and
everyone knew it, but the county commission in 2007 allowed the initial
permit to move forward. Each of the county staff similarly hide within
their narrow areas of expertise, refusing to be lured out to venture an
"opinion".

At min 7:45, Doug Yoder of Water and Sewer, offers that the county uses
nearly 300 million gallons per day of water and that the new FPL proposal
will use 90 million gallons per day, despite 7 potable wellfields within
10 miles of FPL facility that are highly vulnerable.

One of those wellfields, susceptible to salt water intrusion, is the sole
source of drinking water to the Florida Keys.

What is left out of Mr. Grosso's examination, however, is the fact that
FPL's EXISTING NUCLEAR REACTORS are responsible for salt water intrusion NOW AFFECTING the entire region.

Minute 10:50: Grosso notes that Lee Hefty/ department letters have raised
issues: "radial collectors wells" could suck water out of aquifer, not
salt water out of bay. Could significantly worsen salt water intrusion.
13:13, Grosso to Hefty: in your last letter to state, did you tell the
state that FPL hadn't provided adequate information.

14:09 Modeling effort by FPL "leaves some uncertainty", Lee Hefty. "We
are taking the lead of the South Florida Water Management District".

Grosso: "We haven't been able to fix salt water intrusion. ... there is
no plan ... " So this is how it goes, if FPL is allowed to build its
reactors and the "radical collector wells" under Biscayne National Park
(an indignity to national park resources that have never been allowed to
occur anywhere in the United States) and salt water intrusion occurs,
then the "model is to blame" even though the remedial action that could
be necessary -- putting more fresh water into the aquifer -- will be
negated by the influence of the radial collector wells.

Finally, our criticism of county staff has provoked some to respond in their defense. It is true that county staff spent months going back and forth with FPL, and in meetings with the South Florida Water Management District. But still, FPL managed to get a plan approved -- especially in the case of the "radial collector wells" -- that has a high likelihood of ending up, if built, with the same problem as the existing reactors' cooling components: that once damage is done, it is impossible to mitigate. One reaches this conclusion based on the assumption that if FPL could correct its existing violations, it would have done so long ago.

In other words, the absence of accountability is baked into this nuclear permitting process at the local level. One of the most interesting facts to emerge at last week's hearing: nuclear cooling units can suffer severe "scaling" from minerals in the cooling water source, much like your coffee machine at home, and that this scaling can occur almost instantly. I believe the time quoted by an FPL expert was "in 30 to 60 minutes". This is, by the way, apparently the key fact regarding location of the water treatment plant along side the new nuclear reactors in "high quality wetlands". By this report, one further surmises that the "radial collector wells" are not just a back-up water supply, but a supply that will be tapped for its rated 90 million gallons per day capacity.

For the hearing that took place last week, click here: - watch the entire 4 hours and 40 minutes.

George Cavros Does A Reality Check on FPL NUKES. By Gimleteye

Link to Video.

George Cavros' testimony: "To the extent that the company has represented
that this power plant is important for the continuation of reliable
electricity ... before the State of Florida, FPL has been questioned on intent
to build the  2 additional Turkey Point Nuclear Power plants: He says FPL has not made final decision ... all they are doing is pursuing NRC permitting ... this is all speculative.

In other words George Cavros is saying that FPL hasn't even decided if they are going to build the 2 additional plants, based on Public Service Commission testimony, even though we are already being charged for them.

He also says there is vast energy efficiency potential to help people reduce energy consumption and save money ... FPL does not even break into top 100 utilities in offering customers opportunities to conserve energy."

Reform management of the energy sector: yes, to nuclear ... by gimleteye

The planet is sick. Ok. That may be attributing a filter to nature that adapts on timelines that are measured in millions of years. Whatever you call it, the convulsion in the climate we triggered is now known as the new geologic age, the Anthropocene. That's for us. The culprit is greenhouse gases we untrapped from hundreds of millions of years of dormancy. Scientists believe that even if we altered our energy source today -- away from fossil fuels -- any return to the climate we have known is far in the future. We are on the cusp.

This is part of saying: I've made a turn-about on nuclear power. The writer, Robert Bryce, explains why: there is no other power source that can quickly and efficiently deliver grid scale power and replace fossil fuels.

But I mistrust the corporations that comprise our energy sector because, like FPL, they have shown such extraordinary bad faith with the public on a wide range of issues, not just nuclear.

Humans are poor long-term managers. Have you noticed? Our attention span evolved to fit the scroll bar at the bottom of cable news programming. While the question whether civilization survives climate changes remains in the future, one future result can be answered based on past performance: corporations are incapable of the required transformation of energy production and consumption in the United States.

On this point my views diverge sharply from my GOP friends: the mismanagement of the energy sector is not due to the inefficiency of government, it is the result of corporate influence and greed. Of course Democrats are capable of the same. And have done the same. And government has proven itself easily captured by bureaucratic inertia.

For example, nuclear power at sea level, where the rate base will be impacted by sea level rise, is an economic and environmental disaster. FPL and the government have already colluded to obscure the damage to the underground aquifer beneath Homestead that its existing nuclear reactors caused. That is how FPL mobilizes the money we pay the corporation now -- its income -- , to keep our lights and air conditioning turned on in South Florida.

The failure to manage energy production to protect the climate that sustains us illustrates the massive failure of the free market. What option is there but to strengthen the role of science and government? Why isn't this question -- the appropriate management of nuclear power to replace fossil fuels -- part of the national energy debate? My recommendation would be to take the nation's top venture capitalists, put them in a room with the best nuclear engineers, scientists, public policy experts and utility industry economists, and propose a new national energy policy to serve the public interest.

For nuclear to work quickly, the playing field needs to be level, and everything needs to be on the table, including nationalization of certain sectors of the energy economy.

Read Robert Bryce's article here, in Energy Tribune or click 'read more'.

In Spite of Japan's Nuke Disaster, U.S. Regulators Ease Safety/Evacuation Rules. By Geniusofdespair

From the Wall Street Journal

According to the Associated Press, the nuclear power regulators have overhauled community emergency planning for the first time in 30 years, "requiring fewer exercises for major accidents and recommending that fewer people be evacuated right away." Emergency-response plans call for only evacuating residents within a 10-mile radius of a nuclear disaster (that takes us to around Homestead, Florida City and Ocean Reef Club). However, last week, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission recommended that Americans within 50 miles of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant evacuate.  As you can see in the graphic 50 miles takes us all the way up the coast to Fort Lauderdale.

"A mandate that local responders always run practice exercises for a radiation release has been eliminated — a move viewed as downright bizarre by some emergency planners."

According to Penn Live:, "Eric Epstein, head of the watchdog group Three Mile Island Alert, called the new rules 'insane.'” I agree, Japan's nuclear disaster is still unfolding (you can read a weekly update) over 14 months later. Last week they had a miswired thermometer and a gate malfunction. Don't we ever learn from mistakes?

FPL Turkey Point Nuclear, just a turkey ... Guest Blog by Barry White

Some statistics on Turkey Point 6 & 7, new nuclear reactors planned by FPL. The company claims the reactors will cost $18 Billion. That is the overnight cost, if you could build on the day after they said that. Experience shows you can increase that by 50% say $27 Billion. Divide that by the 4.4 million homes in the FPL service area and you get $6,136 per home or about 2.56% of the average value of a South Florida home.

And FPL will own the reactors. Ask the residents of Fukushima how they would assess the liability of nuclear reactors now.

FPL's current market cap is $25 Billiion. New nuclear is a sweet deal, for NextEra stockholders especially the Top Dogs. And by keeping the never to be reached carrot at the end of the Public Service Commission's stick, FPL can spend money for infrastructure they want for other reasons; Florida power companies have already been authorized $1.3 Billion of our money in early Nuclear Cost Recovery.

Early Cost Recovery means that an army of lobbyists are hard at work to make new nuclear in Homestead a reality. Are we suckers, or what? P.T.Barnum did spend a lot of time in Florida. He knew a sucker was born every minute but he never conceived of radiation with a half life of thousands of years. And since the NRC seems to answer to no one and climate change is not on their radar, they will probably license Turkey Point 6 and 7 the same way the Japanese licensed Fukushima-Daichi in a geologically dangerous area.

Nothing changes; the unholy alliance between the regulators and the regulated. And taxpayers are the victims. THE ENERGY REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1974 should be repealed. The NRC called Fukushima an accident; balderdash! It was an actuarial event waiting to happen, just like Turkey Point and its violations of water quality and God knows what else.

How could you evacuate 200,000 people near Turkey Point in an hour? In a disaster, residents will be toast and depending on wind direction, Miami could be directly threatened. (FPL already moved to Juno Beach.) Oh, by the way, the Federal government will underwrite Turkey Point 6 and 7: Wall Street won't. Too risky. But the Feds will put taxpayers on the hook. And if the demand for the power is not there, talk about white elephants. But they will be FPL white elephants, $27 billion worth, except we paid for them. Talk about a garage sale. Just follow the roads to Turkey Point, both of them. Oh, you'll probably have to go by boat, and maybe need snorkels or scuba gear. See picture.
Barry J. White - President,
CASE/Citizens Allied for Safe Energy, Inc.