Attorneys general from 33 states on Wednesday urged Congress to approve a proposal intended to fully open the doors of the U.S. banking system to the legal marijuana industry.
Most Americans live in states where marijuana is legally available in some form. But most banks don’t want anything to do with money from the cannabis industry for fear it could expose them to legal trouble from the federal government, which still considers marijuana illegal.
“This is simple: not incorporating an $8.3 billion industry into our banking system is hurting our public safety and economy,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, whose state is the nation’s largest legal pot shop.
The bill “would reward taxpayers and small and local licensed businesses who play by the rules,” he said in a statement.
NRC affirms safety of Watts Bar plant
In its annual safety assessment, federal regulators said the Tennessee Valley Authority ended 2018 with all areas of performance at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant rated “green” in the highest safety category.
Although the plant has since slipped to a lower “white” rating due to emergency preparedness issues, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the twin-reactor plant was in conformance with all safety standards by the end of last year. The newest unit at the Spring City, Tennessee facility, which initially was downgraded because of the number of unplanned scrams or trips, returned to the top “green” category in the fourth quarter after a prolonged period of production without any shutdowns.
“The NRC concluded that overall performance at your facility preserved public health and safety,” Joe Munda, director of NRC’s division of reactor projects, said in his annual assessment letter to TVA.
The NRC did cite Watts Bar for “failure to maintain the effectiveness of the emergency plan and a standard emergency classification scheme which included facility effluent parameters.” TVA spokesman Jim Hopson said the agency is working to address those concerns to return to the top “green” classification in all NRC-monitored areas.
Georgia Power energizes Vogtle
Plant equipment for America’s newest nuclear reactor is now energized, or permanently powered, which is needed to perform all subsequent testing for the the unit 3 reactor at Plant Vogtle.
Georgia Power, which is building another two units at the nuclear power plant near Waynesboro, Georgia, said plant equipment was previously running on temporary construction power.
“Initial energization is a major first step in transitioning the project from construction toward system operations,” said Vogtle 3 & 4 Construction Senior Vice President Glen Chick. “With energization complete, we can continue moving into the actual testing phase for Unit 3.”
Georgia Power estimates the project is now approximately 77 percent complete. With more than 7,000 workers currently onsite and more than 800 permanent jobs available once the units begin operating, Vogtle 3 & 4 is currently the largest construction project Georgia.
Dalton Utilities owns 1.6 percent of the plant.