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374 facts · 512 sources · updated 2026-09-30

Fact ppl-020

newofficial statementconfirmed Carbon commissioners: with Valar 'since the beginning', 'not hiding anything'; county agendas read did not name the site
2026-09-17 · ppl-020 · Larry Jensen, Jared Haddock, Tony Martines, Carbon County Commission, Valar Atomics

The three Carbon County commissioners (Larry Jensen, Jared Haddock, Tony Martines) signed the 29 June 2026 support letter (mine-013) and spoke for the lease at both Trust Lands hearings. On 20 August Haddock said the county had worked with Valar 'since the beginning, when they were looking at other states', and praised its public education, 'not hiding anything'; Jensen stressed the lost coal tax base (no county coal for over four years, which holds, mine-039); Martines spoke of the county's energy history, infrastructure and workforce. On 17 September Jensen said the commission is 'committed to allowing these things to move forward' despite 'a few in our community who will push back', and that the 'silent majority' will support it 'as they're educated and learn how safe this process is'. Set beside the record: the commission's agendas and minutes from December 2023 to September 2026 name Valar once (a 19 Aug 2026 presentation) and never the Wellington site or the letter (csite-026); no safety document of any kind for a Carbon reactor or fuel plant was found in the public record as of 2026-09-29 (safe-037); and for the county conditional use permit Valar would need, state law requires approval if harms can be reasonably mitigated and does not itself require a hearing, while the Trust Lands memo says Carbon's process includes one (csite-015). The commissioners' long engagement with Valar is confirmed by their own statements and Valar's (ppl-006); no public county record of it was found.

In plain termsCarbon County's commissioners say they worked with Valar from the start and praised it for 'not hiding anything'. But in the county agendas and minutes we read, from December 2023 to September 2026, the Wellington site was never named, and no public safety study for a reactor there has been found. No public safety document for a Carbon reactor or fuel plant was found as of 29 Sept 2026.
verified 2026-09-29: Re-read both Trust Lands transcripts (Haddock 09:12 on 20 Aug; Martines 38:08 and Jensen 24:57 on 17 Sep) and the minutes. Quotes exact. Fixed: 'no safety document exists' restated as 'none found as of 2026-09-29'; the permit/hearing point restated to match csite-015 (state law does not require a hearing; the memo says Carbon's process includes one). Cross-refs mine-013, mine-039, csite-026, safe-037 checked. Correction 2026-09-29 (wording review): plain and detail restated as what the records show; absence stated as not found. Correction 2026-09-30 (commission records check): on 20 Aug Jensen spoke on the tax base; Martines on energy history, infrastructure and workforce

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