Payette residents hear plan

PAYETTE -- It was standing room only last night at Payette High School as hundreds of people came to hear a presentation about proposed nuclear power plant near the town.

The meeting was meant to give the public an opportunity to get to know the company, and ask questions and voice concerns.

Many residents are for and against the idea of having a nuclear power plant in their backyard, but this plant isn’t a done deal yet, and if approved, completion would be over a decade away.

"If I felt there were any safety issues whatsoever I would not be standing here in front of the community tonight talking to them about this project," said Bill Fehrman, president of Mid-American Nuclear Energy Company.

After weeks of review and testing, Mid-American Nuclear Energy Company, based out of Iowa, decided on Payette as a potential site for a new nuclear power plant.

"As we looked around at potential locations, this really jumped out at us as one that we ought to take an extra hard look at," said Fehrman.

Last night’s public meeting was an opportunity to give residents a chance to hear what they're all about.

"I came out to this meeting to learn more about what's going on. We've heard a lot of rumors, and I think this is the best way to form an opinion about it is to be educated about it," said Rollins Wykle, Payette resident.

But not everyone wanted to hear what the president of the company had to say.

"Absolutely this is the worst possible idea for Idaho's energy future," said Dr. Peter Rickards of Twin Falls.

Rickards says this is the one power source that can cause cancer for people hundreds of miles away, and he believes other sources of energy would be better for Idaho.

"So we really need to make sure that we have our energy future in our renewables," said Rickards.

Not everyone was against the idea before they heard what Mid-American had to say.

Payette resident Rollins Wykle says a nuclear power plant is the least of her concerns, because she believes the safeguards for the plant are probably already there.

"My biggest concern is just what it's going to do to the community, and is going to bring a lot of people here, and I think as citizens we need to work together," said Wykle.

Fehrman says the decision on whether they will build in Payette is still a couple of months away.

Once that decision is made Mid-American will submit an application to the government.  That process takes two to four years.

Once the government approves the application, the plant will take another five to six years to build.