COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) – Attorney General Alan Wilson (R-SC) announced Monday morning that the US Department of Energy has agreed to pay the state $ 600 million and also agreed to 9.5 tons of plutonium. from the Savannah River site.
As a component of the settlement, the Energy Decomponent has until 2037 to clean the site of plutonium and safely remove nuclear material. Dan Brouillette, the Secretary of Energy, said his team plans to phase out the remaining plutonium well before the 2037 deadline. The original deadline to phase out plutonium is 2022.
For several years, South Carolina has been involved in lawsuits with the U.S. Department of Energy.But it’s not the first time By eliminating more than tons of plutonium that first arrived in the state in 2002.
Now that the state has received from the federal government what Wilson has declared the largest colony in state history, the Department of Energy has more time for safe nuclear materials.
“The goal of the 15-year grace era is to give the Department of Energy the plutonium area for safe and well-maintained defense without being distracted by contentious and costly litigation with South Carolina,” Wilson said.
One head of state in favor of the agreement is Governor Henry McMaster (R-SC).
The governor wrote a letter to the Attorney General expressing fear about the $ 75 million in legal fees paid to personal attorney companies and the fact that the settlement gives the Department of Energy more time for plutonium without risk of legal action by the state. .
In part, McMaster wrote to Wilson:
“To be clear, I appreciate your efforts to recover financial aid and have an effect on the state’s bills and its continuation of this litigation more generally.However, as I have said many times, it is of the utmost importance that South Carolina does not become a permanent reservoir of plutonium waste.Therefore, I cannot support an agreement agreement that extends the removal periods of the CURRENT DOE to 20 years and potentially governs South Carolina’s long-term leadership by restricting the state’s ability to enforce its legal rights..”
Wilson said the law firms that helped them advance litigation in court included Davidson, Wren and Demasters of Columbia, as well as Willoughby and Hoefer, which have offices in Columbia and Charleston.
“They gave us the most productive treatment we can get with the facts that exist lately and we’re not going to let everyone agree with everything.The companies gave us the deal, the companies gave us the real legal strategy,” Wilson said.
Wilson said that now that the cash will go to the State General Fund, he will talk to the governor and the General Assembly about how the cash will be spent.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says no matter how it is cut and cut into cubes, regulation is an important condiment for the state’s economy.
“$500 million is genuine cash, comes at a time when we want cash in South Carolina, and the most thing is that we have a contract, a legally enforceable contract, which will not be changed, cannot be changed, and the apparatus will come out of here moderately,” Senator Graham said.
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