Socioeconomic Effects of Operating Reactors on Two Host Communities: A Case Study of Pilgrim and Millstone

摘要

This exploratory case study examines the social, economic, and political/institutional impacts of two operating nuclear power complexes on two New England communities. This work is one of a series planned to broaden knowledge of the effects of large energy generating facilities upon the social structure of local communities. Its primary objectives are to investigate and assess social and economic impacts resulting from construction and operation of nuclear power plants and to generate hypotheses about such impacts for future testing. The study concludes that construction impacts were minor due to a dispersed commuting pattern by construction workers and that the only significant construction impact that can be identified retrospectively is construction-worker traffic. The primary impact of the nuclear power plants in both communities was the massive increase in property tax payments paid to the local communities by the utilities and the option chosen by each community to maintain the existing tax rate while using the additional revenue to significantly increase and enhance the public service delivery systems and facilities within the community. Second-order consequences of the direct, first-order economic impact were: (1) changes in community land use policies, (2) increase in salience of growth issues, and (3) alteration of both inter- and intra-community relationships. The majority of residents in both communities express favorable attitudes toward the nuclear plants, primarily because of the substantial increase in the tax base of their communities. (ERA citation 02:000726)