Orange County NC Website
<br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />6. Resolutions or Proclamations <br />a. Resolutions Regarding Shearon Harris Fire Safety and Emergency <br />Evacuation Issues <br />The Board considered two resolutions related to safety issues at the Shearon Harris <br />Nuclear Power Plant. <br />County Engineer Paul Thames went through the changes in the abstract. He said that <br />at the recent Assembly of Governments meeting, there was a discussion dealing with Orange <br />County's longstanding concerns related to evacuation and lack of planning in the 50-mile <br />pathway around the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant and the need to have some <br />coordination for this. It was agreed that a resolution would be brought forward. There was also <br />information provided at the AOG meeting about a recent emergency petition by NCWARN and <br />other groups, asking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to compel Progress Energy to bring <br />Shearon Harris up to existing federal fire regulations. NCWARN provided a resolution, and this <br />was rewritten (page 3}. <br />Paul Thames read the titles of both resolutions. <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />A Resolution <br />In Support of an Emergency Petition to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission by the <br />NC Waste Awareness and Reduction Network, the Union of Concerned Scientists, <br />the Nuclear Information and Research Service, NC Fair Share and Students United <br />for a Responsible Global Environment Seeking Regulatory Action by the <br />Commission to Enforce Existing Fire Protection Standards and Regulations <br />Applicable to the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant <br />WHEREAS, the Orange County Board of Commissioners has a long and well-established <br />practice of advocating for any and all activities that would promote the public <br />health, safety and welfare, particularly in regard to feasible threats to that health, <br />safety and welfare; and <br />WHEREAS, approximately 50 percent of the risks of catastrophic nuclear plant failure are <br />associated with fire-related accidents, as calculated by the Nuclear Regulatory <br />Commission; and <br />WHEREAS, the Orange County Board of Commissioners also have a long and well-established <br />record of concern regarding security and safety issues at the Shearon Harris <br />nuclear power plant, related to the potential magnitude and catastrophic <br />consequences of a nuclear power plant fire leading to an airborne release of <br />nuclear waste materials; and <br />WHEREAS, information has recently been presented to the Board of County Commissioners as <br />to ongoing problems with fire safety and fire protection practices at the Shearon <br />Harris nuclear power plant; and <br />