Seattle Dem blocked tax break to help Richland woo $3.5B in nuclear manufacturing

KENNEWICK – A Seattle Democrat said he stopped a bill that would have helped Richland woo $3.5 billion in nuclear manufacturing because of budget shortfalls, concerns about nuclear waste storage and opposition from key senators.

Washington Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, acknowledged he prevented a bill sponsored by Republican Tri-Cities Rep. Stephanie Barnard from advancing to the Senate floor for a vote.

Barnard’s bill to fix the state’s Targeted Urban Area tax credits is a top legislative priority for the Tri-Cities and was close to the finish line when it was stopped at the end of the 2025 session.

Targeted Urban Areas give manufacturers local property tax breaks for up to 10 years for projects they build in five years or less.

The bill would have given manufacturers who are considering locating in Richland additional time to secure Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval for their projects.

Richland has two nuclear power candidates – Framatome Inc. and Washington Energy LLC – that together would invest $3.5 billion and create 1,220 or more jobs.

The tax breaks apply to local property taxes and don’t affect state revenue.

Washington Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, during the 2025 session.

The expansion of the credits, officially known as Enhanced Substitute House Bill 1210, passed in the House and the Senate Ways and Means Committee. It was pending in the senate Rules committee.

But instead of being advanced to a floor vote, the Senate sent it back to the lower house for more scrutiny, effectively killing it for this year.

Pedersen, who has the authority to advance bills to the floor, blamed the state’s budget crisis, nuclear waste storage issues and lack of support from leaders.

“State and local governments face serious budget shortfalls this year, and extending tax exemptions seems badly out of step with our fiscal climate and the difficult choices we were being asked to make,” he told the Tri-City Herald by email on Monday.

Pedersen said he also was swayed by public testimony that there is no safe place to store nuclear waste in Washington or elsewhere.

“Until that problem is resolved, I am reluctant to provide material support to expanding the use of nuclear power,” he said.

Commercial nuclear power

The Columbia Generating Station, 10 miles northwest of Richland, is the third-largest electricity generator in Washington state and can power 1 million homes.

Used nuclear fuel from the nation’s commercial nuclear power plants, including the Richland plant, was to be disposed of at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, until the project didn’t go forward.

Used nuclear fuel is stored at the plants until an interim storage site or a permanent deep underground repository is built.

As founder and chair of the Legislative Nuclear Energy Caucus, Barnard has worked to educate lawmakers and skeptics on the difference between the Hanford waste left from the wartime nuclear weapons program and nuclear power, fission versus fusion.

“All I’ve done for the last three years is try to get the messaging out, to help ease some of the concerns and misconceptions and misunderstandings that are out there,” she said.

On April 8, the caucus held its most successful event – a reception with former U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

The MIT physicist and highly regarded scientist fielded questions about nuclear safety from all comers.

Sen. Pedersen was personally invited but didn’t attend, she said.

“I don’t know what I could have done,” she added.

Barnard told the Tri-City Herald she was astounded when the bill – her top priority in 2025 – faltered at the finish line.

A yes vote on the Senate floor vote would have sent it to Gov. Bob Ferguson to be signed into law.

Barnard said she counted the votes, not wanting a failure. She was confident of success.

“I had the votes in the Senate,” she said. “It was Jamie’s call and he said ‘No.’ ”

While it passed the Senate Ways and Means Committee, Pedersen said key leaders rejected it – the Senate majority and minority leaders.

“That might be a sign that you have some work to do,” he said.

Barnard was disappointed by the explanation.

Embracing nuclear manufacturers is a natural way for Richland and the Tri-Cities with its nuclear legacy and expertise to nurture new jobs and economic activity as it continues cleaning up the Hanford site.

Nuclear fuel proposals

The city’s commercial nuclear prospects include Framatome Inc., which plans to invest $375 million to expand its Richland nuclear fuel plant, and Washington Energy LLC, a startup that is considering Richland for a potential $3 billion nuclear fuel plant to replace fuel that can no longer be purchased from Russia.

Both would be eligible for Targeted Urban Area incentives.

Framatome in Richland opened its $20 million uranium recovery facility in 2020 at its plant that produces fuel for nuclear power reactors Courtesy Framatome

Richland is the only municipality to use the newish TUA tax break program so far. It has awarded tax breaks to two non-nuclear firms.

ATI Technologies is expanding its titanium melting facility, and Atlas Agro proposes a $1.5 billion carbon-free fertilizer plant in north Richland.

For Framatome, the city pledged property tax breaks worth $6.7 million if it expands its Horn Rapids campus to manufacture High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) fuel under an agreement with the Department of Energy.

The phased expansion would add 220 jobs, starting at $23 an hour.

The city fears it might choose to build in another state if Washington doesn’t pass the expansion bill.

Framatome has not tied its expansion to the legislation.

This week, the French manufacturer said it remains committed to developing and manufacturing advanced reactor fuel in Richland, where it has operated for decades.

“We are disappointed that the TUA modification did not pass this year and plan to look to the 2026 legislative session. We are very appreciative of all the efforts in support of this bill,” it said in a statement to the Herald.

Coming back in 2026

Joe Schiessl, Richland’s deputy city manager, said the city stands ready to support the bill in 2026.

The city council approved property tax breaks for Framatome. Washington Energy hasn’t finalized its site yet.

The city is prepared to sell 425 acres of former Hanford nuclear site land to a company operating as Washington Energy LLC. If it chooses Richland for its $3 billion fuel plant, it would employ 1,000. TUA breaks would likely follow.

“We’ll be ready for the next legislative session with a new bill,” he promised.

The failed bill was tailored to meet the needs of NRC-regulated businesses. But the scope could be larger, said Karl Dye, president of the Tri-City Development Council or TRIDEC, which supported it.

Dye said it would be applied to any heavily regulated industry with demanding review procedures. Think civil aviation, regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration, he said.

“It has broader applications,” he said.