Elmore County P and Z rejects nuke plant rezone 

A proposed nuclear power plant in Elmore County hit a snag late last week when planning and zoning commissioners voted to recommend rejection of an application from developer Alternate Energy Holdings Inc. to rezone more than 1,300 acres from agricultural to heavy industrial use.

The commission voted 4-2 against the application Nov. 5, saying the project was not in compliance with the county’s comprehensive plan, which requires heavy industry be located near the Simco Road area, about 20 miles from the current proposed site of the plant. The application will now go before the Elmore County Commission for a final ruling, though it’s unclear when that could happen.

“We find this puzzling as other forms of heavy industrial electrical generation, such as wind farms, solar plants and natural gas facilities, are given preferential treatment for siting under the county's comprehensive plan,” AEHI President and CEO Don Gillispie said in a statement from the company following the meeting.

Still, in another release dated Nov. 10, Gillispie was optimistic.

“We want to reassure them (supporters of the project) it is only a recommendation to the elected Elmore County Commission, not the final decision as some of our opponents and media are leading people to believe,” he said. “We believe the majority of Elmore County residents want this plant because it will bring thousands of well-paying jobs, affordable energy and it can never be outsourced.”

“We are confident the Elmore County Commission will set aside the Planning and Zoning Commission’s recommendation,” Gillispie added.

But if the commission does decide to affirm planning and zoning’s recommendation, Gillispie said last week that it would mean the end of AEHI’s efforts in the state.

“If the Elmore County Commission upholds the P and Z recommendation, we will regrettably need to end our initiative in Idaho and move forward on these other prospects,” he said, referring to opportunities the company is pursuing in Colorado and Mexico.

In the meantime, AEHI hopes to convince Elmore County officials that their comprehensive plan should be updated.

“The county’s comprehensive plan is well-intentioned, but it was written when no facility like this was contemplated and the P and Z’s interpretation of the plan puts the county’s economic development at risk,” Gillispie said.

AEHI’s proposed 1,600 megawatt Idaho Energy Complex was originally planned for a site in Owyhee County, but moved to Elmore earlier this year. Company officials said the move was due to the discovery of an underground fault line that would have added to construction costs and complicated licensing with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The company has not yet filed a Combined License Application with the commission, but said it plans to do so in late 2009.

Critics, such as the Snake River Alliance nuclear watchdog group, have challenged the project, citing among other things its current lack of financing for the $4.5 billion reactor, and casting doubt on whether the company is capable of securing funding in the future. AEHI recently filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission to move its stock from the Pink Sheets to the OTC: BB.

AEHI sued the Snake River Alliance in August for making defamatory statements about the company and its managers. The litigation is still pending.

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