Mitigating Community Impacts of Energy Development: Some Examples for Coal and Nuclear Generating Plants in the U.S.

Three mitigation plans aimed at internalizing community-level social costs are examined at the Tennessee Valley Authority four-unit nuclear plant in Hartsville, Tennessee; the Puget Sound Power and Light two-unit nuclear plant in Skagit, Washington; and the Missouri Basin Power Project three-unit coal plant in Wheatland, Wyoming. Viewed as new institutional responses to social impact mitigation planning, these plans are analyzed in terms of their origins, scope, goals, local participation, financing, and costs. The significance of the plans derives from

1. their pioneer status
2. their similarity of scope despite highly diverse regulatory environments
3. their custom tailoring to local circumstances.