Transition Power Development LLC
Proposed "Blue Castle Generation" Nuclear Power StationTransition Power Development LLC, a Utah company, intends to build a 2-unit nuclear power station in east-central Utah. The company has not publicly announced the site. However, at the September meeting of the Green River City Council, the Council stated that Transition Power intended to site the power station on the Mancos Hills Industrial Park.
EnergyPath Corporation, Transition Power's parent company, has signed an agreement with Emery County for an option to buy land a few miles west of the town of Green River and the Green River (a tributary of the Colorado River). The land belongs to the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA). Emery County intends to lease the land, then sell or lease it as part of their plans to develop an industrial park west of Green River. The land is just north of three major transportation routes: Interstate 70, State Hwy. 6, and the Union Pacific railway, which connects Salt Lake City and points west to Denver and points east and transports passengers on AMTRAK between Chicago and California.
Transition Power submitted a Letter of Intent (ML0803703873)* to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on January 30, 2008, stating that they intended to submit an Early Site Permit Application or a Combined License Application for two nuclear units by April 2010. Neither Transition Power nor EnergyPath has a history as a developer of nuclear power. EnergyPath issued a news release announcing the formation of TPD in October 2007.
Transition Power CEO, Aaron Tilton, is also a Utah State Representative (R-Springville) and a member of the Public Utilities and Technology Interim Committee, which held hearings on nuclear power in Utah. Rep. Tilton failed to inform the committee and the public that he was in the business of developing nuclear power.
Nils Diaz, a former chairman of the NRC has been working with TPD.
* NRC Accession Number for document. Click here for How to access NRC records.
◊ Information
• Transition Power Development LLC
Subsidiary of Energy Path Corporation
CEO: Aaron Tilton
President: Tom Retson
201 South Main Street, Suite 1100
Salt Lake City, Utah 84111• Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
NRC Contact
Mark Tonacci
301-415-4045
1-800-368-5642, ext. 4045
mark.tonacci@nrc.gov
• NRC New Reactor Regulation
• HEAL Utah Article: Nuclear Reactors in Green River?◊ Water for the Proposed Nuclear Power Plant
Transition Power Development has leased 53,600 acre feet of water from Kane County and San Juan County Water Conservancy Districts. In order to use the water, Transition Power will have to submit a request to the Division of Water Rights for a change in the use of the water and the point of diversion. The Kane County Water Conservancy District must show proof that they have put the water rights to beneficial use or request an extension of the time to put the water to beneficial use by September 30, 2008. The request for an extension will be noticed and an opportunity to protest any extension of time will be provided.
• Water Rights Leased by Transition Power Development
Kane County Water Conservancy District
190 West Center Street, Suite 200
P. O. Box 122
Kanab UT 84741
~ Water Right 89-74 — 13,670 acre feet
~ Water Right 89-128 — 15,750.0 acre-feet
~ Water Right 89-1513 — 180 acre feet
San Juan County Water Conservancy District
P.O. Box 246
Blanding UT 84511
~ Water Right 09-462 — 24,000 acre feet• September 25, 2008 — Request for Extention of Time to Show Beneficial Use
On September 25, 2008, the Kane County Water Conservancy District (KCWCD) requested an extension of time to prove beneficial use of Lake Powell water that it has leased to Transition Power Development LLC (TPD) for a proposed nuclear power station near Green River, Utah. Proof of beneficial use was due on September 30. On the 2-page Request for Extension of Time to File Proof of Benefical Use forms, KCWCD requested until 2015 to demonstrate beneficial use. The water rights were originally approved in 1964, but have never been put to any use. The City of Green River has voted to approve a site for Transition Power to withdraw water from the Green River. The site is below where the majority of area users withdraw their water.
~ Utah Code §73-3-12. Time limit on construction and application to beneficial use - Extensions - Procedures and criteria
Extension Requests
Water Right 89-74
~ page 1
~ page 2
Water Right 89-1285
~ page 1
~ page 2
Water Right 89-1513
~ page 1
~ page 2• November 4, 2008 — Protests of Extension Requests
Two conservation groups: HEAL Utah and and a group made up of Uranium Watch, Red Rock Forests, Living Rivers, the Moab Local Green Party, filed water rights protests with the State Engineer, Utah Division of Water Rights, on November 4, 2007. The groups protested Kane County Water Conservancy District's request for an extension of time to show beneficial use for 29,600 acre-feet of water leased to Transition Power Development LLC (TPD) in 2007 for a proposed 2-unit nuclear power station near Green River.Extension Protests
~ Red Rock Forests, et al.
~ HEAL Utah
Division of Water Rights
~ Protest Notice - November 5, 2008◊ NRC Nuclear Power Station Siting and Water Requirements
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is the federal agency that licenses and regulates nuclear power stations in the U.S. They rely on regulatory guidances to determine whether a site is suitable for a nuclear power facility. It is doubtful that the site and water souce chosen by Transition Power would meet the siting requirements and the requirements for a dependable supply of water. The water is a "heat sink" used to cool the reactors.
~ General Site Suitability Criteria for Nuclear Power Stations - Regulatory Guide 4.7
~ Ultimate Heat Sink for Nuclear Power Plants - Regulatory Guide 1.27◊ News Articles
• Deseret News
Cost of a Utah nuclear plant could reach $3 billion - October 19, 2007• Idaho Samizat: Nuke Notes
Blue Castle Reactors for Green River, Utah? - July 23, 2008
Utah Nuclear Project Update - March 8, 2008
Nuclear power plant planned for Utah - October 16, 2007• Salt Lake Tribune
Proliferation: Utah doesn't need a nuclear power plant - October 4, 2008
Lease deal could give nuke plant a home - November 11, 2008
Critics: Proposed nuke Ppant all wet; save H2O for public - November 17, 2008• The Wasatch Watcher
Utah Republican lawmakers and conflict of interest - October 20, 2007Updated November 18, 2008
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
HEAL Utah
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Proposed Mancos Mill
Green River
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Emery County
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Emery County Building and Zoning
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Green River, Utah
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Utah Meeting
Notices
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Utah Division of
Water Rights-DWR
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DWR
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DWR E-mail
Notification
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Utah Division of
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DAQ Public Comment
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Utah Division of
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Utah Division of
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Utah Division of
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Utah Statutes
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Utah Administrative
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