by Randel D. Hanson
The Circle Newspaper
March 1995
When Northern States Power (NSP) announced in late January that it had
reached a deal with the Prairie Island Dakota Tribe, to some it seemed like
the utility had finally turned the corner on a shady past.
It was to be a sweetheart deal in which NSP would provide the tribe some
$30 million over 18 years and 1,750 acres of land for relocation of tribal
members who wished to do so.
According to Tribal Council President Curtis Campbell Sr., many younger
tribal members, especially those with children, wanted to get away from the
health threats posed by the reactors. Accordingly, the agreement was put
forth by NSP ostensibly as a response to ongoing tribal grievances over the
bitter reality of the Prairie Island Community, living a literal stone's
throw from the towering twin nuclear reactors.
Like with all nuclear agreements, however, this deal contained hidden
costs. Indeed, to be granted the money, the Prairie Island Tribe would have
to go to bat politically for NSP. On the surface, NSP wanted tribal support
for legislation that would drop a 1994 state requirement for locating an
alternative waste storage site in Goodhue County, something the utility was
having a very difficult time doing.
But even more important, NSP sought additional storage space for nuclear
wastes generated on Prairie Island through "re-racking," a process which
entailed storing the highly radioactive spent fuel rods closer together
than previous agreements allowed. This "re-racking" would provide enough
nuclear waste storage capacity so that NSP could keep their twin reactors
operating through the year 2014 even if no federal dump site was found. The
catch was that if NSP didn't get its way in the 1996 Minnesota Legislature,
all money and land for the tribe would be dropped.
Thus, NSP seemed to construct a deal to pit the health and safety interests
of the Prairie Island community against the interests of other
environmental groups, attempting to divide a coalition which had
collectively opposed continued reactor operation. Put another way, NSP
sought to use tribal peoples to forge expansion of nuclear power in
Minnesota and extend the life of the twin nuclear reactors on Prairie
Island.
On February 23, the Prairie Island Tribal Council distributed letters to
the Minnesota governor, legislators and the media, announcing that the deal
was null and void. Having narrowly passed in the Senate Jobs, Energy and
Community Development Committee in early February, the bill was halted when
it became clear that there was insufficient support for it in the Senate
Environment and Natural Resources Committee.
The Tribal Council continues to seek alternative legislation to address the
needs and concerns of the Prairie Island Community as it faces the burdens
of living next to nuclear reactors and more waste than anyone knows what to
do with. In describing tribal activities around new legislation, Council
President Campbell stated that his community "cannot afford to be left on
the sidelines again." When asked about why the agreement between the tribal
council and NSP included issues beyond land and monetary compensation,
Campbell said that "you'll have to talk to NSP about that."
The Prairie Island tribe vigorously opposed the 1994 legislative agreement
which allowed NSP to expand storage of radioactive waste to 17 dry-storage
casks on site. That bill also mandated that NSP seek alternative storage
sites for additional waste, and invest in other renewable energy projects.
For tribal members, however, all that the 1994 bill meant was continued
exposure to radioactive hazards.
Joseph Campbell, a Prairie Island tribal member, commented on being exposed
to radioactivity from the reactors over the 22 years of their existence:
"It has impacted the animal life, the fish, and the birds. It is only
logical to understand that the air, the water and the people must also be
contaminated."
He went on to explain that "NSP is agitating disunity between tribal
membership, tribal and environmental alliances, while simultaneously
presenting a public facade of concern and justice. We are not confused by
this smokescreen. The Minnesota legislature must uphold its responsibility
to the health and well being of all their constituents and say no to NSP's
proposal."
Tom Goldtooth, National Coordinator for the Indigenous Environmental
Network, stated that "the proposal made by NSP is an unethical, immoral and
blatant act of environmental racism. NSP has a responsibility to compensate
the Dakota people with out any strings or continued nuclear power
productions. NSP is attempting to cloak their agenda of continued plant
operation despite the will of the people, under the guise of compensation."
Indeed, problems between the tribe and NSP began with the building of the
plant in the late 1960s, when NSP told the tribe that it was a steam
generator, failing to add that it was nuclear-powered by twin reactors.
Soon the city of Redwing, eager to cash in on hefty taxes from the plant,
annexed the island in a move that remains questionably legal. So as the
"allowable" and planned toxic releases combined with the accidental ones,
and the tax money flowed out to Redwing, the Prairie Island community
received nothing but the brunt of health and safety problems.
As mentioned earlier, NSP has long maintained publicly that no adverse
health effects are encountered in living adjacent to nuclear reactors.
Ironically, in forging this latest agreement with the Prairie Island tribe,
NSP in effect admitted that living next to nuclear reactors was hazardous
to your health.
Maintaining publicly that plant workers, nearby communities and down-river
peoples are safe from radioactive contamination may become more difficult
in the near future for NSP. In 1993 the utility sued the Westinghouse
Electric Corporation over equipment at the plant that is cracking and
leaking radiation. But perhaps realizing the explosive nature of this
information, NSP has fought hard to keep the public from knowing. The
Prairie Island Coalition (PIC), a grass-roots umbrella organization for
environmental groups, was granted intervenor status by Federal District
Court in the lawsuit. Although NSP has continually dragged its feet on
releasing documents, PIC has filed various legal motions to compel the
utility to comply with court orders. After reviewing these materials, PIC
plans to make public all information relevant to the safety of continued
plant operation.