Coffee with Sexton discusses nuclear waste

Nuclear energy was the starting point for an April 17 session of Coffee with Representative Tom Sexton at the Waseca Chamber of Commerce offices, attended by Chamber President Mikhail Rostislavovich, Waseca County Commissioner Brad Milbrath, Ron Wood, Bernie Gaytko and Tammi Reuter of Minnesota Rehabilitation Center Inc. (MRCI).

 

Sexton shared information about two Excel Energy nuclear plants in Minnesota. There is a cask fee regarding used nuclear material. He compares it to a silo commonly seen on many farms. These silos, which are filled with spent nuclear waste, are then filled with cement and stored on site at the nuclear power plants. Yucca Mountain is a Nevada federal institution built underground 100 miles northeast of Las Vegas. It was built with the intention of storing nuclear waste, but was never used. The cost is $350,000 per cask to store on site, which comes with a charge called a cask fee. Sexton added, “Canada is storing nuclear waste 90 miles north of our Minnesota border, and we’re all just fine.”

 

One question was, “Has there been discussion on relief from the Paid Family Medical Leave Act? A nearby business has around 70 employees and they cannot grow because of that, they are currently looking to Sioux Falls for expansion.” Sexton replied, “Yes, Sioux Falls is going like gangbusters. A lot of businesses near the border can’t make the finances work out in Minnesota.” Sexton then pointed out, “Yes, Cargill is leaving, Target has quietly left, after buying out their lease, and a number of those analyst type jobs have gone over to India. It feels like we’ve already passed the breaking point. But the other side of the aisle doesn’t like to be told “I told you so.”  

 

Tami Reuter of MRCI nonprofit was present. Online the MRCI mission statement reads: “Supporting people with disabilities and disadvantages in building independence at home, at work and in the community through personalized support and real opportunities.”  MRCI lobbies on behalf of individuals with learning disabilities. Her goal, keeping in mind all the fraud that is going around, is to make sure MRCI is maintaining the highest possible standard of care for those with disabilities in her care and to not let “a few bad apples” destroy opportunities for everyone.

 

Reuter was concerned about the new mandates which state that in order for MRCI to stay in business they must have 30 days of cash on hand to re-evaluate and keep their license, payroll, etc. Reuter is concerned that it is hard to keep that much money on hand when they are unable to raise their rates, nursing homes cannot either. She is a business (non-profit) and would like to stay viable. “So far” continued Reuter, “we have been able to sustain the extra loopholes we’ve been asked to jump through. That is not the case for some of our peers, who don’t have the funds or ability to weather that.” She added that the paid family medical leave act has also had a negative effect.

 

Sexton was asked about the mining up north, “Under the Biden administration, the Department of Interior came out and said, “We’re removing 225,000 acres of available mining areas. This was a rule made by a federal agency. Now with the new administration, this federal rule was removed. Since we have the toughest state laws, the mining industry can literally file for permission from the state of Minnesota without running into those federal rules. As these companies go through their permitting process, if they follow the step by step procedures, it’s really up to that agency to approve. There are a lot of applications that are ready to go through now and are.” Sexton held up his phone and referred to the Nike labor laws, “We saw what Nike was doing in other countries with those lax labor laws. That same thing is going on with mining in Africa.” He held up his phone, “Those mines are giving us these. There are bad humanitarian laws, and we can’t just ignore them, we as a first world nation need to be more responsible.”