Settlement Reached In Wppss Suit Utilities, Cities Agree To End 14-Year Battle
Southern Idaho power companies and cities are signing documents to end a 14-year legal battle over nuclear power.
Just how much the lawsuits will cost in legal fees and future rate increases is yet to be determined.
In the past week, the cities of Heyburn, Burley and Rupert passed resolutions approving settlement of the last lawsuit over the Washington Public Power Supply System.
It was supposed to include a series of nuclear power plants in the state of Washington, but the project was never completed because of cost overruns and other concerns.
The boards of local electric companies such as Raft River Electric and Rural Electric also signed the settlement last month and other agreements are expected.
The reaction of Heyburn City Attorney Tuft was typical. “It’s a relief,” he said. “I’m glad it’s over.” He has been city attorney since 1977.
Don Chisholm had a similar reaction. He represented the city of Rupert from the beginning, and the city retained him to stay on the case after he no longer was city attorney.
“I’m glad to see it’s coming to an end,” said Chisholm.
The cities and electrical cooperatives were named as codefendants with Bonneville Power Administration in lawsuits over the plants.
WPPSS argued BPA owed $400 million in the latest lawsuit, but the settlement reduced that to $55 million.
Jack Lowery, a Seattle attorney who represents 30 utilities and municipalities, said, “It’s not officially settled, but we don’t anticipate any hangups. We are looking forward to close this in June.”
Area residents may feel the impact long after the settlement is signed. Local officials said it’s likely that BPA will pass along its $53 million share of the settlement to customers through rate increases.
“BPA has to pick this up somewhere,” said Lowery.
“We’ll still be paying the bills,” said Burley City Utilities Superintendent Don Hill.
Some say the rate increase will not be significant because it will be passed on to 100-plus utilities and cities in the western United States.
Burley received $1 million from an insurance company in 1984, but that didn’t cover its settlement of $1.2 million plus attorney fees.