This latest wrinkle is just one in another of several disruptive episodes as LES moves forward into operations. We talked with Ferland about charges of environmental racism in Louisiana, where LES first began its long journey to obtain an NRC license. As with every question and concern we voiced, Ferland did not dither or back down, but instead methodically responded, "Urenco and its partners did begin the licensing process for LES around 1990. Come 1997, they still did not have the NRC license. Seven years pursuing a license is a long time. There were a variety of issues. One of them was environmental justice."
Ferland hadn't yet arrived at the time, but he had studied the charges. "Here's my take as to why they took so long," he began. "Environmental justice, at that time, was a relatively new concept. There were not a lot of rules or regulations in place about how you approve whether or not environmental racism was going on. They spent a long time, arguing back and forth about how to make that decision. How do you do those calculations?"
So what happened? "It is my understanding, at the end of all that, LES was found to be in the clear on that particular issue." What took so long and why the unusual accusation? "I think it was," Ferland started, but paused for a moment. "Anti-nuclear opponents will do whatever they can to slow down the licensing process. It was a successful effort by the anti-nuclear folks to put massive delay into the licensing process to the point where the owner finally walked away."
Finally, how did Louisiana Energy Services end up in New Mexico? Abandoning the project in Louisiana, the company moved to Tennessee. Some report the locals chased LES out of the state. Ferland surprised us with his answer, "LES never submitted the license application to the NRC."
But what's the real story, here? "I'll be very blunt about it," Ferland warned us. "Management credibility was lost with the local population in Tennessee. A company like ours doing a project like this, even though it's extremely safe and extremely environmentally friendly, it's a nuclear project." And this is advice to anyone hoping to cash in on the nuclear renaissance, "And if you don't have the credibility and trust of the public, in all honesty, you can not proceed with the project." Ferland cleared the air, "Management had some issues in the way they addressed the public and the press in Tennessee that caused them to lose credibility, and probably rightly so." The situation had gone so bad, Ferland admitted, "We could not turn that around."
Based upon our interviews with state senators and representatives, New Mexico's reaction was magical compared to what LES endured for the past 16 years. "Marshall Cohen and his team did a very good job in New Mexico," Ferland explained. "We have, if it is done correctly, a relatively good project to sell. We can take folks to see the operating enrichment facility in Europe, which we are essentially copying." LES did that just that. We interviewed New Mexico State Senators Leavell and Kernan, who both gave Urenco's Almelo facility their blessing. "It's ultra clean, ultra high tech and has an extremely good environmental record for as long as it's been in existence, which is 25-plus years." Ferland said with steel in his voice, "If you do it right, it's a pretty easy project to sell, and if you do it wrong, you can drive it into the ditch very quickly."
James Finch contributes to StockInterview.com and other publications. The entire article can be read at StockInterview's website – http://www.stockinterview.com
