Johnson City Press from Johnson City, Tennessee • 33

i Features Editorials Classified JOHNSON CITY PRESS CHRONICLE WHAT THE PEOPLE KNOW WILL HURT THEM SUNDAY FEBRUARY 20 1977 which is expected to be completed next year iT economic s-V I is 4 1 I View of US 11-W under construction new emphasis on preparation meetings by TVA arid local boards Affected will be schools medieal facilities water and waste projects roads and recreation plus police and fire protection TVA largely through coordinator Jim Point has promised to the impact Schools for instance already are overcrowded in Hawkins County but TVA says it will help in whatever guidelines the local boards set up There can be either portable classrooms or cash equivalents for the county to use to build new' schools or renovate existing ones Point says many of the decisions will have to be made as the problems arise especially where unknown factors are concerned TVA at its recently-completed Hartsville nuclear plant after some earlier controversy agreed to set aside $62 million to help lessen public problems due to the plant The projected monetary help from TVA will affect not only the Hawkins County school system but also the system in Rogersville and in Kingsport A peak load of 525 additional children is expected As for water TVA received a lucky break in that the city of Rogersville only recently put $2 million into expanding its water supply The city also added a treatment plant new lines and a storage tank system all of which can be used to serve the Phipps Bend area Rogersville water department officials said the present capacity can be doubled to two million gallons of water a day TVA would pay for the hookup Die agency also has agreed to pay for' road work necessitating access routes and by next year the controversial 11-W will be four-lane from Kingsport to Rogersville And while some point to the extra strain of additional fire and police protection especially in the nearby communities of Surgoinsville Church Hill Mount Carmel and Rogersville Point says the additional revenue from property taxes and other sources will more than offset fire and police costs The tax revenues have been questioned by some however in that many of the new dwellings for construction workers will be mobile homes and therefore less income-producing HawkinCounty does however receive from TVA of $64000 a year and the figure will climb to $123000 annually once Phipps Bend accommodates the nuclear plant Although all of the above points to the facts are misleading The business community especially in Surgoinsville Rogersville Mount Carmel and Church Hill are cautioned that over-extension in motels restaurants housing and the like could spell disaster Although the peak construction force will total 2500 workers most of whom will to Workmen bring in' probably in moving Still atom only The Atom at Phipps Bend 2 t' wt1 -VA'" By PAUL MAYS The proposed nuclear energy plant at Phipps Bend although now in limbo is nevertheless casting long shadows where the economy and fear are concerned Die fear is both real and imagined of dangers to humans and to the environment But the impact on the economy seems to bear greater weight and for the most part people in this area seem more amcemed with jobs than with safety Die plant now awaits approval of a pre-construction work order by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission All such work has been halted pending a public hearing at a date yet to be scheduled Assuming approval is granted actual construction of the two reactor units will begin July 1 Die site is located in Hawkins County at Phipps Bend which is 25 miles east of Surgoinsville and about two miles south of 11-W It is located 46 road miles from Johnson Qty Already TVA has purchased 1400 acres of good farmland on the north shore of the Holston River About 25 families were affected by the purchase which averaged around $1400 per acre plus additional pay for improvements on the land Some of the farmers will be able to lease back some of the land for restricted farming operations such as cattle grazing Die economic impact will be further heightened by a work force of about 2500 during the peak building years Building is to be completed in 7 to 8 years After that a work force of 17d will be permanently -assigned to operate the plant Total construction payroll will be $368 million according to cordinator for the project Jim Point who has an office in Rogersville After the project is completed the annual payroll is expected to reach $2:8 million which most local residents feel will be quite a healthy input for the region Point said also that assuming the project gets rolling on schedule an employment office is expected to be set up in the town of Surgoinsville Point added that emphasis will be placed on hiring local people first when I say local I mean the region taking in areas in Morristown i Greeneville Kingsport Johnson City and the Point added A construction work sheet put out by TVA lists dozens of categories for construction work with hourly rates -ranging from just over $5 to the $10 and over bracket An example shows a brick mason hourly rate of $850 a blacksmith would earn $905 a carpenter $7425 a lineman $8975 a roofer $7075 an unclassified laborer $5125 a diver $10750 a day The scope of the project already has put a Staff Photo by Eddie LeSueur A fv 1 vsy A it i 1 it Carroll Raines chairman of Surgoinsville Planning Commission knows the new plant will mean many jobs i yyyyy'Jp fi'y -J' a -v plant site A' f' A WC '''At' f't pip 'm i' 'P A $'' 111 A A 4' A-fA- 4 -xr'' tearing down an old farmhouse on TVA nuclear families not all will be congregating wAAy the immediate area There will if be only about 1800 congregating the area and most of those will be out within a few years Therefore over-speculation could spell trouble yAfJ assuming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission provides the go-ahead the at Phipps Bend will be producing not cheaper electrical current but also an pill economic impact that will be felt for years lAf hi come Next: Opposition nukes in the atvtafte.