Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language
Laws of Minnesota 1985 RESOLUTION 1-S.F.No. 13 A resolution memorializing the United States Department of Energy of Minnesota's opposition to the siting of a high-level radioactive waste disposal site in Minnesota pursuant to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. WHEREAS, a safe and reliable solution to the problem of high-level radioactive waste disposal is crucial to the health and welfare of all citizens; and WHEREAS, the United States Department of Energy is considering Minnesota for one of two national permanent repositories for high-level radioactive waste; and WHEREAS, high-level radioactive waste must be isolated from the environment for thousands of years to prevent danger for future generations; and WHEREAS, the suitability of granite as a disposal medium will never be certain because of unresolved technical issues, including the difficulty of characterizing groundwater flow; and WHEREAS, the potential impact of a failure of isolating a waste repository on surface and groundwater resources would be severe and irreparable because release of the waste would contaminate the environment and can never be retrieved; and WHEREAS, Minnesota encompasses the headwaters of three major North American watersheds and contains over 15,000 lakes, over 90,000 miles of waterways, and nearly 9,000 square miles of wetlands; and WHEREAS, the quality of Minnesota's extensive surface water and groundwater resources is critical to the economy, health, and welfare of the state; and WHEREAS, repositories located in arid regions of the United States would greatly increase the margin of safety at a nuclear waste disposal site; and WHEREAS, the Governor and Legislature are responsible for protecting the economy, health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of Minnesota during the federal radioactive waste repository siting process and at all times; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it declares Minnesota to be in opposition to the siting of a high-level radioactive waste repository within the boundaries of the state because of concern over the effect of radiation releases from a repository on the headwaters and downstream of our three major North American watersheds and on the economy, health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of Minnesota. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State is directed to prepare certified copies of this memorial and transmit them to the Secretary of the United States Department of Energy and to Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress. Approved without governor's signature June 27, 1985
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes