Vote NO on Utah H.B. 249 pushing costly, dangerous experimental small modular nuclear reactors and protect Utah communities, taxpayers, families, schools, local rights, energy costs, and environment

We, the undersigned citizens of Utah, express our strong opposition to H.B. 249 and urge our elected officials to vote NO due to its significant flaws and potential severe, dangerous consequences.

The bill promotes small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), likely to go inside cities near people, as is being tried in Eagle Mountain, Utah already. No such reactor has ever been built in the US. We need more time and years of data to ensure their safety before bringing them here!

H.B. 249 is WRONG for Utah because:

• Nuclear energy is exponentially more expensive than existing energy sources, to the point that the NuScale small modular reactor project in Idaho was canceled due to skyrocketing power and building costs.

• Uncapped property tax increases: The bill allows for unlimited property tax increases in designated electrical energy generation zones, and has the potential to increase property taxes statewide through the method the county auditor uses to calculate tax rates, without adequate oversight.

• Erosion of Local Control: The bill allows the state to overrule local zoning laws in favor of energy development projects. Eagle Mountain citizens are currently fighting the city's attempted zone change to allow experimental small modular nuclear reactors within 2 miles of a school and brand new neighborhoods. Other cities, incentivized by Governor Cox's offer of taxpayer money for building nuclear reactors through Operation Gigawatt, and/or financial benefits promised from big tech companies' power-hungry AI data centers, could similarly try to bypass the citizens' wishes throughout Utah's cities!

• Toxic Nuclear Waste: Utah would have to store dangerous nuclear waste throughout its cities where these unproven small modular reactors would be built. The bill lacks any provisions for the safe storage of nuclear waste and does not restrict the location of nuclear reactors or waste storage facilities, potentially allowing them to be built near homes and schools. Studies show increases in childhood cancer near nuclear power plants. Nuclear workers have higher cancer rates also.

• Lack of accountability, oversight, or transparency by building bureaucratic new entities, such as the Nuclear Energy Consortium and the Utah Energy Council, and modifies existing ones, with no oversight mechanisms, potentially leading to the misuse of funds. Corruption of public officials can happen! Most members overseeing nuclear energy with this bill would work in the nuclear energy field, so they all have major conflicts of interest, not public safety as their first priority.

• Severely limits public input and participation in energy development decisions on matters that affect Utah citizens's safety, beyond the annual reports by the Utah Energy Council.

• Too financially risky: No insurance will pay for losing a home to a nuclear-related leak or problem, and the federal government's program to compensate homeowners for nuclear accidents expires at the end of this year, risking total home loss of city residents.

• Less regulation=more danger! Utah is suing to remove federal oversight of nuclear reactors in its state, potentially further loosening safety measures. The federal government requires traditional nuclear reactors to be enclosed to limit radiation exposure in case of a leak, high emergency plans, and high-level security to prevent terrorists using them as weapons. The NRC is seriously considering removing these requirements these for small modular reactors.

• Energy for Big Tech AI Data Centers Not Citizens! Governor Cox openly admits this push for nuclear is for data centers so they can run power-hungry AI. It wouldn't benefit citizens. Taxpayers would be forced to subsidize AI!

We, the Undersigned, Demand that our Elected Officials vote NO to HB 249!

We call on them to explore a more diverse and balanced approach to the state’s energy future.

We urge you to protect the financial interests, property rights, and safety of all Utah citizens. Please sign this petition to show your opposition to H.B. 249.

***This petition is based on information from the text of HB 249, specifically concerning: the establishment of the Electrical Energy Development Investment Fund, the collection of property tax differential revenue, the state designation of electrical energy development zones, the lack of provisions for safe nuclear waste storage or limitations on the location of nuclear reactors and waste facilities, and the creation of the Nuclear Energy Consortium and the Utah Energy Council. Also from news articles and scholarly studies.