HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 19

51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2014

INTRODUCED BY

Eliseo Lee Alcon

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE GOVERNOR TO COMMISSION A NUCLEAR TASK FORCE TO FACILITATE NUCLEAR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES.

     WHEREAS, New Mexico is one of the few states still facing the challenge of jobs recovery from the severe economic decline of 2007 and 2008, and every possible effort must be put into creating good jobs that will put New Mexicans to work, enhance the state's education system, embrace those economic clusters that have been tried-and-true job creators for the state and focus on advanced research, development and energy; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico has benefited significantly from the pivotal role it has played in the nation's nuclear industry, and many of the state's wealthiest communities and most highly educated residents have direct ties to the industry; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico has a significantly large and mature nuclear-business cluster, including Sandia national laboratories, Los Alamos national laboratory, three research universities, the university of New Mexico cancer treatment center, the university of New Mexico nuclear engineering department, Kirtland air force base, the waste isolation pilot plant, the URENCO enrichment facility, White Sands missile range, enormous uranium deposits and a large number of associated private companies, which have never been coordinated and capitalized upon in a major economic development effort; and

     WHEREAS, the national laboratories in the state employ thousands of New Mexicans, are global leaders in nuclear research and engineering, provide excellent advanced educational opportunities, collaborate with the state universities, support business with technical problems, are an asset to the state in hundreds of different ways and are in a unique position to provide "work for others" research as well as additional missions; and

     WHEREAS, the waste isolation pilot plant has become world- renowned in nuclear waste management capabilities, and those capabilities should be examined for additional missions that would benefit the country as well as the state; and

     WHEREAS, these resources could combine to create thirty thousand jobs that will pay more than minimum wage; and

     WHEREAS, URENCO has constructed a four-billion-dollar ($4,000,000,000) enrichment facility in the southeastern part of the state to supply enriched uranium for power plants, and other front-end businesses of the fuel cycle, such as pelletizing, fuel-rod manufacturing and fuel-assembly manufacturing companies, could be added to the business portfolio of the state; and

     WHEREAS, the demand for electricity in southeast New Mexico because of the rapid growth in that area, as well as the replacement demand for the four thousand megawatts of electricity capacity in northwestern New Mexico as a result of the phaseout of coal, make small modular nuclear reactors and large volume nuclear reactors a necessity for "carbon free" base load electricity production; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico is an ideal location for small modular nuclear reactor development due to the state's having two national laboratories, intellectual nuclear capability as well as electricity demand; and

     WHEREAS, the nuclear industry should be one of the key components for the state's economic recovery;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the governor be requested to commission a nuclear task force composed of cabinet secretaries focused on economic development, environment, energy and health, pertinent policy advisors from the governor's office and economic development leaders in the state to facilitate nuclear economic development opportunities; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force form a technical subcommittee made up of scientists from the national laboratories, state universities, the waste isolation pilot plant and the private sector to identify nuclear opportunities in the state; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force form a stakeholder advisory subcommittee made up of the economic development entities of the state and local government for the purpose of implementing the recommendations of the technical subcommittee; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the governor.

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