Snake River Alliance Media Advisory
For Immediate Release
Contact: Andrea Shipley
Office: 208 344-9161
Cell: 514-8713

Media Advisory: Elmore County Commission Set to Discuss Rezoning for ‘Nomad Nuke Plant’ Monday in Mountain Home

WHEN:
9 a.m. Monday, June 8, 2009

WHO:
Elmore County Commission

WHERE:
Elmore County Courthouse, 150 South 4th East, Mountain Home

WHAT:
The Elmore County Commission will discuss a request by Alternate Energy Holdings, Inc., to rezone nearly 1,400 acres of prime farmland above the Snake River for a nuclear reactor. We do not expect a decision from commissioners on Monday, but the meeting should be newsworthy nonetheless because commissioners will discuss their thinking on the reactor issue for the first time. The project has little chance of being built, has no financing, and its developer reports having about $34,000 in the bank.
Monday’s hearing, which should run from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., follows a lengthy County Commission hearing on the rezoning request on April 22, when scores of concerned Elmore County residents turned out to oppose the reactor project. The Elmore County Planning & Zoning Commission last November recommended the County Commission reject AEHI’s request to rezone the land after determining the proposal was a clear violation of the Elmore County Comprehensive Plan. County Commissioners haven’t said whether they will vote on the request at Monday’s meeting, announcing only that they will discuss the issue in public. The Commission is not taking further public comment.

AEHI and its President Don Gillispie have been peddling the nuclear reactor around southwest Idaho for more than three years. Gillispie bolted from Owyhee County in 2008, claiming the site he once described as “perfect place for a reactor” was unsatisfactory. He then headed upstream on the Snake River to Elmore County, where he has learned residents are even more opposed to his ill-conceived project.

STORY IDEAS:
– If approved, this project would forever change the way of life for
countless Snake River farmers in Elmore County. Many of those landowners will attend Monday’s meeting and can provide compelling testimonials on how the reactor proposal will impact their land and their livelihood. We can help you contact these farmers and arrange interviews.
– Elmore County has a rich history as one of Idaho’s most treasured
agricultural areas. Should this plant be constructed, Elmore’s rural way of life will forever change.
– AEHI has yet to show how it can build this project. In fact, it has
no financing and according to its more recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing has no promise to obtain financing. We can provide you the SEC filing or a link to it.
– AEHI has no market for its power. Despite its claims to the SEC that
it is negotiating power sales “with several major utilities” and that it has a “construction loan letter for up to $3.5 billion” from an unidentified investor, an examination of the company’s SEC filings show no such agreements. For instance, Idaho Power CEO Lamont Keen told his company’s shareholders at their annual meeting in Boise on May 21 that Idaho Power has no interest in investing in nuclear power for the foreseeable future. In addition, PacifiCorp, which serves eastern Idaho customers as Rocky Mountain Power, recently filed its required integrated resource plan with regulators in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, California, Utah, and Wyoming and said:
“Nuclear power is not considered a viable option in the PacifiCorp service territory before 2025.”