H-3803              _______________________________________________

                                    HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 4430

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1988 Regular Session

By Representatives Nelson, Barnes, P. King, Sutherland and Spanel

Read first time 1/18/88 and referred to Committee on Energy & Utilities.

WHEREAS, Possible conversion of the Washington Public Power Supply System Nuclear Plant No. 1 to a federal nuclear materials production reactor is of interest to citizens of the state for both economic and safety reasons; and

          WHEREAS, Modification, restart, and continued operations of the federal government's N-Reactor has been a matter of strong public interest; and

          WHEREAS, Cleanup of defense radioactive waste on the Hanford Reservation from over forty years of federal government operations has been too slow and inadequate to date; and

          WHEREAS, Federal government implementation of the federal Nuclear Waste Policy Act, relating to the disposal of commercially spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive wastes, has directly affected and may continue to affect the state of Washington; and

          WHEREAS, Nuclear issues, in general, continue to generate a high level of public interest; and

          WHEREAS, Nuclear issues can be complicated and require detailed examination to assure proper public protection and accurate public information; and

          WHEREAS, The Legislature, as a direct representative of the public, should have a means to identify and become involved in an in-depth manner in nuclear issues determined to be of significance to Washington State citizens;

          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the House of Representatives of the state of Washington, the Senate concurring, That a joint select committee on nuclear affairs be established to monitor and air nuclear issues with current emphasis on cleanups of defense radioactive waste on the Hanford Reservation, possible conversion of Washington Public Power Supply System Nuclear Plant No. 1 into a federal defense nuclear materials production reactor, possible restart and operation of the N-Reactor, and continued implementation of the federal Nuclear Waste Policy Act; and

          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the committee consist of eight members appointed jointly by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate.  The membership shall consist of two members from each major political caucus in each house and each member shall be from a different congressional district; and

          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That staff support shall be provided by the energy and utilities committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate as mutually agreed by the chairs; and

          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the committee report its findings and recommendations to the energy and utilities committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate by January 1, 1989.