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s~ ' ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: November 21, 2000 <br />Action Agend <br />item No. <br />SUBJECT: Coo erative A regiment with NC WARN for Foundation Solicitation <br />DEPARTMENT: Economic Development PUBLIC HEARING; (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Agreement by and between Orange Dianne Reid , ext 2325 <br />.County and NC WARN <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough 732-8181 <br />Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br />Durham 688-7331 <br />Mebane 336-227-2031 <br />PURPOSE: To consider the attached agreement which would formalize the working <br />relationship between Orange County and NC WARN and' permit NC WARN, as a 501(c)(3) <br />corporation, to solicit foundation grants for activities to seek a full, objective public review <br />regarding Carolina Power & Light Company's (CP&L) radioactive waste storage plans. <br />BACKGROUND: Since the 1980s, Carolina Power & Light Company has been storing high <br />level radioactive wastes from its three nuclear plants in North and South Carolina on-site at its <br />Shearon Harris facility. With the capacity of its two operational starage pools nearly exhausted, <br />CP&L applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in late 1998 to expand storage capacity <br />by activating two partially constructed and unused spent fuel pools and by re-racking existing <br />stored waste into a more densely packed storage configuration. Orange County and North <br />Carolina WARN (Waste Awareness and Reduction Network) have been working together to <br />open to public scrutiny Carolina Power & Light's application to expand the permitted storage <br />capacity for spent nuclear fuel at the Shearon Harris power plant in Wake County. <br />Many of those who have evaluated the CPS~L plan are concerned that by densely packing large <br />quantities of spent fuel in the Harris pools, CP8~L is raising the risk of a severe accident. <br />Orange County, with the cooperation and support of NC WARN, has brought legal action <br />against CP&L, seeking a full, objective public review. <br />The process of addressing and educating the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the nuclear <br />industry is formidable, and Orange County has employed some of the most experienced people <br />in the country to assist in this effort. The proposed agreement would enable NC WARN to seek <br />foundation funding to cover the expenses of the legal and technical team of Dr. Gordon <br />Thompson and Diane Curran. <br />