Number: 1997-08
WHEREAS, a private company has proposed to build a nuclear waste storage facility on Palmyra Island or Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean and seeks federal exemption from environmental and safety regulations, said proposal being titled “The Private Storage Facility Authorization Act of 1996;” and
WHEREAS, this proposal would be for 200,000 tons of high-level spent nuclear fuel and plutonium, for 20 years, fully exempted from the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act; and
WHEREAS, the islands of Palmyra and Wake, as well as Midway, Howland, Baker, Jarvis, Kingman Reef, and Johnston Islands hold value for wildlife preservation as well as other constructive purposes such as well-planned ecotourism, as is the case at Midway Atoll; and
WHEREAS, any island is an exceedingly poor site for nuclear waste storage, with respect to their size, isolation, geological instability, hurricane, security vulnerability, and proximity to ocean waters and important fisheries;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation in its Annual Meeting assembled April 3-6, 1997 in Tucson, Arizona, expresses its opposition to this nuclear storage proposal; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation also urges the State of Hawaii to exercise leadership in protecting the environmental integrity of the following islands: Palmyra, Wake, Midway, Howland, Baker, Jarvis, Johnston, and Kingman Reef.