Posted on 08/31/2020 12:59:21 PM PDT by buckalfa
COLUMBIA, SC (WSPA) – Attorney General Alan Wilson announced Monday that the State of South Carolina and the United States have reached a settlement to end litigation related to weapons-grade plutonium that was relocated to the Savannah River Site in the early 2000s.
According to the settlement, the U.S. will pay South Carolina $600 million immediately and the Department of Energy says they will remove the plutonium by 2037
The settlement ends six years of litigation related to the remaining 9.5 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium.
According to the release, South Carolina will allow the Department of Energy 16.5 years to remove the remaining plutonium from Savannah River Site, or monetary penalties will be reinstated and the department will be subject to additional litigation.
“This settlement is the single largest settlement in South Carolina’s history. It is important to me that the people of South Carolina know of our long-term commitment to preventing South Carolina from becoming a dumping ground for nuclear waste,” Wilson said. “Additionally, the more than half a billion dollars in settlement money could not come at a better time as our state government and economy work to overcome the revenue shortfalls caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been a long, difficult road but I am proud of the leadership displayed by our state’s elected officials and the expertise of my legal team.”
“I wish to thank President Donald Trump and his administration, especially Department of Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette and United States Attorney General William Barr for working with South Carolina to resolve this dispute. I also appreciate Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Tim Scott, Governor McMaster, Congressman Joe Wilson, and Congressman James Clyburn for not only supporting my strategy but for also providing us with a united front. Their support helped to make this settlement possible. Our State did not waiver in demanding what is right and just for our people,” Wilson added.
According to the release, Wilson said he will work with the General Assembly and Gov. Henry McMaster on the best ways to allocate the money to benefit South Carolinians.
In a news release from the Department of Energy, American taxpayers will save $1.5 billion and South Carolinians will “receive a financially backed commitment from the Administration to remove the material from the state, with a payment of $600 million up front.”
“The Trump Administration is committed to tackling our nation’s toughest challenges where previous Administrations have failed, including the removal and disposal of Cold War era plutonium from the State of South Carolina,” Brouillette said. “Today’s announcement is a promise to the people of South Carolina that plutonium will be removed safely from this state, while saving the American taxpayers over $1 billion. I thank Attorney General Wilson, Governor McMaster, and other South Carolina leaders who have been strong partners with DOE to get us to this day. This historic agreement could not have been possible without the leadership and support of President Trump and Attorney General Barr. This is a good day for South Carolina.”
6.5 metric TONS of weapons grade plutonium - HOLY CRAP BATMAN. Lets hope antifa and BLM never get their sh!t hooks on it.
Hmmm... I'd bet that the subject of "reducing" state taxes never, never comes up...
The only things coming up will be "increased" social & welfare program expenditures and politician salaries...
I have seen the glow of irradiated uranium fuel rods under more than 20 feet of crystal clear water, in a flooded reactor cavity and in the spent fuel pools. The soft warm glow looks like...victory.
Those areas are very safe as long as that radioactive material stays under 20 feet or more of shielding water. My PRD barely measued a fraction of a millirem.
6500 kg of plutonium at 3 kg per pit is 2167 atom bombs
Human beings are truly insane.
Now remove all military bases from SC. Let they get by without any military money....
South Carolina complains about the nuclear material, but has no problem with the billions DOE has pumped into the economy of Aiken and surrounding areas with the Savannah River facility. Blame Obama and Harry Reid and the mess surrounding the Nevada Storage site.
The Nevada storage site, Yucca Mountain, is one of the most expensive holes in the ground in the world. Our tax dollars (not) at work.
I should have applied the sarcasm tag. Both my grandfather and father worked at Hanover, Rocky Flats, and Y-12. Dad even did a couple years at SRC. Glow in the dark was a running family inside joke. Both of those gentlemen were in safety and fire protection and had full faith in the industries ability to operate safely. As to having faith in the contractors who operated the facilities, not so much.
“6.5 metric TONS of weapons grade plutonium - HOLY CRAP BATMAN”
Just a small part of the total.
The plutonium is only the trigger for the hydrogen/lithium in the thermonculear device. It’s more than 2167 atom bombs.
Lord only knows how many megatons (and megadeaths) this represents.
Aww, come on, man! Hillary can get THREE times that amount for it... so I’ve heard...
I used to live there. Didn’t much care for the radioactive turtles.
Back in the day when the local merchants would gripe about the jet noise from MCAS Beaufort the paymaster would pay all the Marines and sand crabs in $2 bills.
It became instantly obvious where most of the money in town was coming from.
Especially since cash register drawers don't have a slot for $2 bills...
where was this plutonium relocated FROM in the “early 2000s” ?
Rocky Flats, Colorado and or Hanford, Washington.
Actually as I understand it it wasn’t our taxes that paid for it it was the utility companies that paid for it which than was added to our electric bills.
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