Demand for nuclear has never been greater, and it’s because of the urgency surrounding climate and energy security. If we’re going to deploy the hundreds of reactors needed to meet this moment, we’ll need the support of local communities. And it’s a fact that the more understanding communities have for nuclear, the more supportive they are.
Want to learn more about how the nuclear industry is supporting environmental justice and community engagement? We asked the expert, NEI’s Sr. Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Ellen Ginsberg.
What is environmental justice and why is it important?
The EPA's definition is the one most commonly cited. It focuses on fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. So, at its core, environmental justice means that no group of people should be disproportionately harmed or burdened by the adverse environmental impacts of industrial government and commercial activities, and that all people should have an equal opportunity to be informed about and participate in decisions affecting their environment and health.
How does nuclear energy impact environmental justice?
Critical in terms of environmental and climate justice is for host communities to understand the health and economic features of nuclear energy, what those are, and what they are not. Nuclear energy does not create carbon dioxide emissions or particulate matter, which is so related to asthma, especially in less advantaged communities. Operation of a nuclear plant substantially contributes to the community's tax base supporting, for example, local schools and public service providers like fire departments and first responders. Nuclear facilities also offer many long-term, high-paying plant jobs, as well as prompting many indirectly related jobs in the area of the plant. Plant personnel engage in many hours of community service and plants contribute to community related charities. Finally, this form of electricity generation is both reliable and stable, which is particularly important because studies have shown that low-income people and people of color suffer from power shutoffs and service interruption. In short, reliability of electricity supply is critically important for all communities because it contributes to their standard of living and quality of life.
What has the nuclear industry done to address environmental justice?
A few years ago, NEI through its members articulated an industry-wide position on environmental justice through a set of established principles. Those principles reflect the continuing enhanced commitment of NEI and its members to advancing environmental justice objectives as part of industry operations and activities.
First, actively engaging with disadvantaged communities to enhance mutual respect and trust. Second, to integrate environmental justice considerations into business and operational practices. Third, there is support needed for efforts to help local disadvantaged communities sharing benefits from industry operations and activities, and finally, supporting policies based on mutual respect and justice.
I'd also note that with respect to the engagement principle, it is intended to leverage the work that's already underway to inform communities how nuclear energy’s benefits factor into achieving a just transition to a carbon-free economy. And I'd stress that the environmental justice programs are not intended to be one size fits all, because while it is certainly true that there are many common features, including community engagement and participation, the best programs recognize individual needs of individual communities, and they respond to those needs.
What is an example of the nuclear industry working with communities to support environmental justice?
There's an excellent example of one of NEI's members, which is developing an SMR and how it demonstrates that the industry is taking on environmental justice, but also taking on community engagement more broadly. In siting the Natrium plant, TerraPower evaluated four communities that host coal plants slated to be retired. TerraPower asked each of the communities if they wanted to be considered and engaged in many, many meetings about hosting the facility throughout the state. In the end, all four communities indicated that they wanted to be considered and Kemmerer, Wyoming, a town of 2,700 people in Southwest Wyoming, was selected. Kemmerer is home to the Naughton coal plant which is slated to be retired in the middle of this decade. And the potential loss of that plant and the adjacent mine that fuels it would have had significant economic impact on the town, the county, and the entire region as currently, the plant employs a hundred plus IBEW workers. TerraPower's Natrium plant will require, by comparison, 2,000 skilled trades workers to build the plant at its peak construction and will provide somewhere between 200 and 250 permanent union jobs. TerraPower is working with regional unions, Wyoming colleges, and engaging with tribal nations to ensure that the job training programs are available to meet the workforce needs. In short, the Kemmerer community and the larger region has shifted from concern about how to survive the coal plant closure to looking to thousands of new workers coming into the community.
What do you think is the most important thing to do moving forward to advance environmental justice?
Identifying vulnerable communities, for example, low income and minority, and engaging in outreach are critical, but it's how that is done that will be determinative of whether the objective of a just energy transition is achieved. That means not just complying with formal legal obligations to address environmental justice, but also taking steps to, for example, share information in a timely way. Be responsive to community feedback. Recognize issues unique to environmental justice communities in the process of decision making. All of those steps, together with many others in a strong environmental justice and community engagement program, can and should lead to avoiding community harm and more pressingly producing beneficial outcomes for communities at risk.
