Valar Watch · Fact csite-026

Fact csite-026

newrecordconfirmed Carbon County backed nuclear power in a public 2023 vote; no county agenda or minutes found name Valar's Wellington site

2023-12-20 · csite-026 · Carbon County Commission, Larry Jensen, Tony Martines, PacifiCorp

On 20 December 2023 the Carbon County Commission, on a posted agenda item, adopted Resolution 2023-06 'Supporting the energy industry, more specifically nuclear power'. Per the minutes, Commissioner Jensen said it was meant to tell PacifiCorp/Rocky Mountain Power the community favoured nuclear plants and that 'we need to begin to educate the public about nuclear power'; it mirrored an Emery County resolution. The commission's minutes for January 2024 to April 2026 (50 sets, read by OCR in the research pass; the examples below were OCR'd again in this check) mention nuclear only in brief remarks: a 3 January 2024 recap of that resolution; Commissioner Martines phoning in on 16 October 2024 while returning from Idaho National Laboratory 'in conjunction with' the San Rafael Energy Research Center; and, on 18 February 2026, Commissioners Martines' and Jensen's report on the Ward 250 reactor's delivery to the Orangeville test site, which he called the first of three prototypes. The one Trust Lands item, on 5 November 2025, renewed a county road easement on trust land along Ridge Road and Miller Creek, not the Wellington parcel. The commission's posted agendas from 6 December 2023 to 16 September 2026 (73 notices) name Valar once: a 'Valor Atomics presentation' on 19 August 2026. Its minutes record an update on the Emery lab, plans for a town hall in Price and a reactor open house within 30 to 45 days, and commissioners highlighting 'the tax benefits the plant will bring'; they do not name the Wellington site or the lease the state board heard the next day (mine-013). The 2026 minutes also record commissioners celebrating Valar's criticality (1 July) and Valar announcing a Carbon County town hall for late September or early October (2 September); none names the parcel or the letter. No agenda or minutes name the Wellington parcel or the 29 June 2026 support letter, and none shows a Valar zoning change, development agreement, road-use agreement, tax abatement or other county approval for the site.

In plain termsCarbon County's leaders told the public openly, in 2023, that they wanted nuclear power in the area, and voted on it in a public meeting. Valar gave a presentation at a county meeting in August 2026. In almost three years of county meeting records, none found shows the specific plan: the square mile north of Wellington, or the letter the commissioners signed backing it. The county may not have been legally required to vote on the letter (csite-016, csite-030), but residents following county meetings would not have learned of the site there.

December 20, 2023 Commission Meeting (Carbon County Board of Commissioners minutes; scanned, read by OCR) (Carbon County (Utah Public Notice Website), 2023-12-20) primary government “we need to begin to educate the public about nuclear power”
Carbon County Board of Commissioners: notices, agendas and minutes, Dec 2023 to Sept 2026 (browse list) (Utah Public Notice Website) primary government
November 5, 2025 Commission Meeting (Carbon County minutes; scanned, read by OCR) (Carbon County (Utah Public Notice Website), 2025-11-05) primary government “sections of Ridge Road and two sections of the road that goes south”
October 16, 2024 Commission Meeting (Carbon County minutes; scanned, read by OCR) (Carbon County (Utah Public Notice Website), 2024-10-16) primary government “traveling home from the Idaho National Labs in conjunction with the San Rafael”
Aug 19, 2026 Commission Meeting Minutes (Carbon County; scanned, read by OCR) (Carbon County (Utah Public Notice Website), 2026-08-19) primary government “highlighted the tax benefits the plant will bring to reduce local residents' personal property taxes”
February 18, 2026 Commission Meeting (Carbon County minutes; scanned, read by OCR) (Carbon County (Utah Public Notice Website), 2026-02-18) primary government “This is the first of three prototypes that will be coming.”
Sept 2, 2026 Commission Meeting Minutes (Carbon County) (Carbon County (Utah Public Notice Website), 2026-09-02) primary government “a town hall event dedicated specifically to Carbon County is planned”
January 3, 2024 Commission Meeting (Carbon County minutes; scanned, read by OCR) (Carbon County (Utah Public Notice Website), 2024-01-03) primary government “we are saying that we could support nuclear energy”

verified 2026-09-29: Holds, with the headline narrowed (the 19 Aug 2026 agenda does name Valar, though not the site). Re-checked 2026-09-29: December 20, 2023, October 16, 2024 and November 5, 2025 minutes by OCR (quotes exact); all 47 commission notices on body 1148 from 4 Dec 2024 to 16 Sept 2026 searched by agenda text (only 19 Aug 2026 names Valar/Valor). The 50-set minutes sweep for Jan 2024 to Apr 2026 was not repeated in this pass. Date set to the 2023 vote. Second check 29 Sept 2026: all 73 commission notices on body 1148 from 6 Dec 2023 to 16 Sept 2026 searched by agenda text (only 19 Aug 2026 names Valar/Valor); minutes OCR'd again for 3 Jan 2024 and all 16 sets from 7 Jan to 2 Sept 2026 (Valar or nuclear appears on 18 Feb, 1 July, 19 Aug and 2 Sept; none names the parcel, Section 16 or the support letter). The 2024-2025 minutes sweep still rests on the research pass apart from the four sets re-read. OCR quotes exact to the OCR text. Correction 2026-09-29 (wording review): absence stated as 'no record found'. Correction 2026-09-30 (commission records check): the minutes name Martines (Oct 2024 call-in) and Martines and Jensen (Feb 2026 report).

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