Resident urges Cumberland County to oppose Three Mile Island restart, raises evacuation and waste concerns

Gene Stilt, identified in the meeting as "Gene Stilt" from a citizen group, urged the Board of Commissioners to oppose any restart of Three Mile Island (TMI) and raised concerns about evacuation planning, radioactive waste on site and local readiness.

Stilt told commissioners the group's message is "No TMI restart," argued that recent energy contracts (referenced in his remarks as involving Constellation Energy and Microsoft) make local residents subordinate to corporate interests, and described shortcomings he believes exist in current evacuation plans. He said parts of the county — including nursing homes, prisons, hospitals, daycare centers and large facilities such as the New Cumberland Army Depot — are not addressed adequately in evacuation routing. "No reopening of TMI goes a long way toward avoiding an avoidable amount of actions," he said.

Why it matters: Public comment raised emergency-planning and public-safety questions tied to potential nuclear plant licensing and corporate energy deals. Commissioners acknowledged the concerns and indicated the topics are on the county's public-safety review team's radar and that the board would consider a public meeting if residents request one of substantial interest.

What the meeting record shows

- Stilt's remarks: He described historical reactor operations and expressed distrust of proposed restarts and corporate arrangements. He noted the presence of "700 metric tons of highly radioactive waste" at the site and urged county resistance to further licensing or operations he said would extend the presence of high-level waste. In the transcript he said: "Our bottom line is this, the citizens of Pennsylvania are not constellation of Microsoft slaves. I won't take any risk for Microsoft or Constellation Energy." (Remarks recorded during public comment.)

- County response and next steps: A county official (not identified by full name in the public record segment) told Stilt that "almost all of those issues have been discussed by this board in detail with our public safety review team. So that's very much on the radar." The official said the board would be open to holding a public meeting if there is substantial citizen interest and would consult the county solicitor on what formal role the county could play in emergency-planning proceedings overseen by state and federal agencies.

- Record materials: Stilt referenced an "attached emergency plan" and other materials he said he provided; in the meeting he also said he would ensure the county receives his plan. The transcript records an exchange in which Stilt said he had not attached the plan at the time he spoke but intended to provide it to county staff.

Ending: Commissioners thanked the speaker and signaled follow-up through their public-safety review team and potential additional public outreach. The transcript shows the meeting then continued with scheduled agenda business.