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Chair outlines Ter Power nuclear project's impact-fund estimates; meeting approves nondisclosure agreement
Summary
At a local meeting, the Chair updated attendees on the Ter Power nuclear demonstration project's application and impact-fund estimates, including a request from the applicant to seal proprietary technical details. The board voted to sign a nondisclosure agreement to allow confidential review of the application.
The Chair gave a substantive update on the Ter Power nuclear demonstration application and the town's expected share of impact funds, and the governing body voted to sign a nondisclosure agreement to review confidential project materials.
The Chair said Ter Power's initial application listed a $500 million project and that, at a 2% local tax rate, the community-level "impact funds" would have totaled about $10 million. "We had that letter that we sent out questioning the amount came back that oh yeah we made a mistake it's actually more money than the 500," the Chair said, describing follow-up conversations with officials in Cheyenne and on the industrial siting committee. The applicant, the chair said, has filed a motion asking that certain information — including materials used and staffing details for the demonstration facility — be sealed to avoid allowing others to "reverse engineer" the project.
The meeting approved a motion authorizing the town to sign a nondisclosure agreement with the state and the applicant so local officials can review the sealed materials. The Chair said the Attorney General's office has asked communities whether they would accept confidential review under an NDA; the board voted in favor of signing the NDA with no recorded opposition.
Officials told the meeting the corrected project value could substantially increase the amount of impact funding distributed to affected counties, with speakers saying the counties' shares could "double possibly to a tripling" compared with the initial figure. The Chair pointed to recent Dry Creek project distributions as context, saying Green River received about $8 million and Rock Springs about $13 million from that earlier project.
Participants discussed two options for distributing future impact funds: (1) a project-specific allocation, which tends to give small towns a relatively small direct share, or (2) a countywide, population-based distribution, which the Chair said can increase per-community shares. The Chair described a scenario in which a population-based approach could materially increase the town's allocation compared with a project-specific formula, and said county leaders were discussing an umbrella approach to divide funds among municipalities.
On timing and next steps, the Chair said corrected numbers were being sought before pre-hearing memorandums are due and that the mayor or an authorized signer may need to sign documents before January. The board's approval of the NDA was presented as a procedural step so local staff and leaders can review confidential materials and refine their estimates of local impacts and eligible uses under the statute that governs impact-fund accounting.
The board did not set final allocations at the meeting and did not adopt any binding distribution formula; the Chair said the corrected figures and the state's process will determine the next steps.
