S.21-2.6: DamN it! Act (Passed)

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

DamN it! Act

1. Planning for construction then construction are to begin immediately on the following three projects listed:
  1A. Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 3 - Somervell County, TX - 1700 MW - Price estimate $7.5 Billion
  1B. Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 4 - Somervell County, TX - 1700 MW - Price estimate $7.5 Billion
  1C. Clinch River Four Units of SMR - Oak Ridge, TN - Price estimate $900 Million each ($3.6 Billion total) - 180 MW each (720 total)
  1D. LouisvilleThunder Gravity Dam and Reservoir - Jefferson County, KY - Ohio River - Price estimate $24 Billion - 4800 MW
  1E. TimTurner Gravity Dam and Reservoir - Wichita County, TX - Red River - Price estimate $24 Billion - 4800 MW
2. Funds Allocated will be $1 Billion in FY 2020. After FY 2020, 20% of the remaining budget surplus (if there is a budget surplus, if there is no budget surplus nothing goes) will be allocated for these projects above every year indefinitely.
3. A commission will be made by the governor to ensure efficient usage of funds. [This clause needs a lot more work]

Sponsor: Abdullah

[reagente]

Having advocated for the MEREMAC Act last session, this bill looks promising. I would, however, be interested to hear the elaboration for the construction of dams in these particular locations. Are these based on past proposals or are they novel suggestions?

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

My first impressions of this bill are quite favorable and I look forward to helping further refine it on route to it becoming law.

[Biden his time]

Advocation:

Dam + Nuclear      

Maybe a little ambitious but even if we overproduce that'd mean that the South could be a net energy exporter, also it'd drive prices down. Just look at the comparison between Germany (where they're phasing out nuclear power plants)'s energy prices and France (where ~70% of electricity is derived from nuclear)'s. Also hydel's another consistent strong source of energy. This bill also could create at least a few hundred jobs of different types (possibly thousands or tens of thousands, I'll have to do some more research).

The three nuclear power plants are already planned and can be found on the NRC.GOV website and the dams are just made up but our experts will figure that out.

Also you might be thinking gravity dams can't exist on flat areas but that's not necessarily true first of all and secondly I allocated $10 Billion to each dam more than necessary to ensure smooth production (and perhaps this is too much, maybe we end up with some back). The original price and energy estimates are derived from the Diamer-Bhasha Dam and Reservoir in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Important to remember this money won't be used all in one year, but likely over a decade or two decades, which is about how long these megaprojects take to build. Literally $4 Billion a year for 17 years and we have them all done. With our massive surplus, it won't be a problem. To top it off if we don't have a surplus no money goes to these projects so that's taken care of.

Having advocated for the MEREMAC Act last session, this bill looks promising. I would, however, be interested to hear the elaboration for the construction of dams in these particular locations. Are these based on past proposals or are they novel suggestions?

Novel ideas based on the places where LouisvilleThunder and TimTurner live. These places are somewhat hilly and once again, it is not unheard of for gravity dams to exist on flat areas (check the Wikipedia page) and I allocated $10 Billion more than necessary for each of them in case there are potential roadblocks. We could lower this price or move the dams (to the Smoky ot Blue Ridge Mountains) as time goes on and if these options are unfeasible.

I wanted to advocate for already planned dams but Dam construction in the United States really has taken a downturn lately.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Would there be any environmental issues from the Jefferson County, KY - Ohio River thing?

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

While I love seeing support for adding a dam in my hometown, there are some facts I need to mention.
There already is a dam at this site that provides 80 MW of energy. The Falls of the Ohio are an excellent site to place a dam, but I am unsure if it would be feasible to expand it so it can produce more energy.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/McAlpine_Locks_and_Dam

[Biden his time]

Alright, luckily there is a pre-existing gravity dam that's in Kentucky, what about expanding that instead?

Proposed amendment:

DamN it! Act

1. Planning for construction then construction are to begin immediately on the following three projects listed:
  1A. Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 3 - Somervell County, TX - 1700 MW - Price estimate $7.5 Billion
  1B. Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 4 - Somervell County, TX - 1700 MW - Price estimate $7.5 Billion
  1C. Clinch River Four Units of SMR - Oak Ridge, TN - Price estimate $900 Million each ($3.6 Billion total) - 180 MW each (720 total)
  1D. Expanded Wolf Creek Dam and Reservoir - Russell County, KY - Ohio River - Price estimate $20 Billion - 4800 MW
  1E. TimTurner Gravity Dam and Reservoir - Wichita County, TX - Red River - Price estimate $24 Billion - 4800 MW
2. Funds Allocated will be $1 Billion in FY 2020. After FY 2020, 20% of the remaining budget surplus (if there is a budget surplus, if there is no budget surplus nothing goes) will be allocated for these projects above every year indefinitely.
3. A commission will be made by the governor to ensure efficient usage of funds. [This clause needs a lot more work]

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

No objection.

[Biden his time]

Proposed amendment:

DamN it! Act

1. Planning for construction then construction are to begin immediately on the following three projects listed:
  1A. Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 3 - Somervell County, TX - 1700 MW - Price estimate $7.5 Billion
  1B. Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 4 - Somervell County, TX - 1700 MW - Price estimate $7.5 Billion
  1C. Clinch River Four Units of SMR - Oak Ridge, TN - Price estimate $900 Million each ($3.6 Billion total) - 180 MW each (720 total)
  1D. Expanded Wolf Creek Dam and Reservoir - Russell County, KY - Ohio River - Price estimate $20 Billion - 4800 MW
  1E. TimTurner Gravity Dam and Reservoir - Wichita County, TX - Red River - Price estimate $24 Billion - 4800 MW
2. Funds Allocated will be $1 Billion in FY 2021. After FY 2021, 20% of the remaining budget surplus (if there is a budget surplus, if there is no budget surplus nothing goes) will be allocated for these projects above every year indefinitely.
3. The governor's office shall create and sustain a "Dam funding commission" which shall ensure efficient usage of funds.

Anyone want to add any changes? Please say so now so we can move onto the vote.

Motioning for the final vote. Object if you want.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Final vote. 48 hours.

Aye.

[Biden his time]

Aye!

[If my soul was made of stone]

AYE

[reagente]

This bill has enough votes to pass, delegates have 24 hours to change their vote.

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Aye

[reagente]

This bill has passed, and will be presented to the governor for signature