FPL Turkey Point

August 2009 - FPL Expansion Update

Miami-Dade County managers have scheduled public meetings on the controversial plan to add new power lines in the county. These lines are part of the plan to add two new nuclear reactors at Turkey Point. In Miami-Dade the lines are planned along 18 miles of US1 from Palmetto Bay to downtown Miami. There are plans for three high voltage power lines on FPL land inside Everglades National Park. One of the public meetings is Monday Aug 31, 6:30-9:30pm at Homestead City Hall Council Chambers, 790 N. Homestead Blvd., Homestead. The second meeting will be Wednesday, September 2 from 6:30 to 9:30pm at the University of Miami Bank United Center in Hurricane 100 Room, 1245 Dauer Drive, Coral Gables. For more info call Miami-Dade Dept. of Planning and Zoning, 305-375-2835.

June, 2009 - FPL Quietly Plans for Nuclear Reactor Waste Storage

FPL is seeking to construct a storage facility in Miami-Dade County. They are trying to get it done without any zoning hearings or study. The Sierra Club Miami Group is asking for the Dept of Planning and Zoning to look into this matter. Here is the letter to the Director which voices our concerns.

TO: Marc C. LaFerrier, Director, Department of Planning & Zoning

It has come to our attention that Florida Power & Light (FPL) needs to construct a long-term storage facility, for high-level nuclear reactor waste, in Miami-Dade County. We believe that this is a zoning issue and should be handled as such so that public health, safety, and environmental issues can be studied and discussed.

It is true that Yucca Mountain, Nevada, was to be the national repository for nuclear reactor waste, but there are currently many problems with it. The position taken by President Obama is that a national repository at Yucca Mountain is no longer an option. This means that nuclear reactor waste will be stored in Miami-Dade County for many, many years, possibly forever. President Obama will give each state an opportunity to find its own solution for the interim storage of nuclear reactor waste. Complicating the storage issue is climate change and sea level rise. It seems the Nuclear Regulator Commission (NRC) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) have neither the rules nor the willingness to adequately address these important issues in their permitting procedures.

The Sierra Club, Miami Group urges you to decide that the construction of a long-term nuclear reactor waste storage facility is indeed a zoning issue. Such a decision would start a normal process for addressing important public health, safety, and environmental issues.

How long will the casks (or vaults) stay at Turkey Point?

Will the State of Florida provide an interim nuclear reactor waste storage facility?

Can casks (or vaults) be transported?

Will access roads to Turkey Point be flooded before the nuclear reactor waste is removed?

What are predicted consequences of climate change and sea level rise for the Turkey Point area?

How can the nuclear reactor waste storage facility be made safer?

What mitigation would be appropriate?

We urge you to pursue a transparent zoning process where there can be contributions to a necessary base of information from the county staff, the FDEP, the NRC, FPL, the County's Climate Change Advisory Task Force, the public, and other interested parties. Respectfully submitted, The Executive Committee, Sierra Club, Miami Group

FPL Announces Plans for Two New Nuclear Reactors at Turkey Point

FPL is seeking approval to expand the Turkey Point site by two new reactor units by 2025. This would make it one of the largest sites in the Southeast. Forgetting all the issues with nuclear waste and the supervision and measuring of the existing aging reactors, these units need fresh water for cooling. So much water that it is an obvious question in these drought years, where are they going to get the water?

Mark Oncavage, Conservation Chair for the Miami Sierra Club was interviewed by the Miami Herald and was quoted as saying " That is one of the biggest problems I see, there is not enough water to build it." Mark has been the Energy Chair for the local Sierra Club for many years and testified at many of the hearings on the workings at Turkey Point. Over the years, issues of waste storage, security, and hurricane protection for the aging nuclear plant have all been in the news.