http://66.225.205.104/LM20100617.mp3
Duke Energy is trying to get permission from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build a nuclear plant near Gaffney, South Carolina. The Commission is holding a public hearing tonight on the utility's latest proposal for the site. Nuclear plants require a constant supply of water. Duke estimates its proposed plant near Gaffney would go through 35 million gallons of water a day. That water would come from a reservoir fed by the Broad River. In times of drought the plant could draw from a back-up lake. But Duke wants to build a third reservoir that it could turn to in a long drought. It would cover 620 acres. Tom Clements with the group Friends of the Earth says if the river could truly support a plant, Duke wouldn't have to build a third reservoir. "The mere fact that the nuclear regulatory commission is looking into Duke's request to build this pond really is an acknowledgement that there's going to be a huge water withdrawal stress on the Broad River which is really a small river," says Clements. Duke Energy spokeswoman Rite Sipe says there's plenty of water to support the plant and maintain a healthy river. She says the third reservoir would simply be an extra precaution in times of drought. "What we were looking at is a way to further ensure the availability of water for the downstream users and for the ecology and for our plant operations," says Sipe. The meeting will be held at Restoration Church International in Gaffney at 7:00 tonight.