It all relies on trust

Big things are happening in Gillette.

Last week, Gov. Mark Gordon and the Wyoming Energy Authority announced that $100 million in Large Project Energy Matching Funds was awarded to BWXT to support a TRISO fuel fabrication facility in Wyoming. BWXT will match this with $473 million of its own money.

The facility is expected to employ 200 people and create about 200 more indirect jobs when it opens in late 2030.

Gillette Mayor Shay Lundvall was very excited, to say the least, following the announcement.

“I think it’s one of those opportunities that is once in a generation,” he said. “Everybody’s wanted to expand energy, expand opportunities, create jobs, and here it is, we’re doing it.”

The project has its skeptics, for a variety of reasons. And a lot can change in the next five years. Who knows where the country will be in 2030?

Nuclear energy has a better chance of getting bipartisan support in Congress than coal, oil, gas and green energy. It’s one of the most strictly regulated industries in the world. And like it’s been reported several times before, BWXT’s facility will not need any changes to state law in order to operate, meaning it won’t create or store high-level nuclear waste here.

But enough about that topic for now. I’d like to talk about community partners.

I recently was looking at some News Record articles from the 1970s. Amax was all over the newspaper back then, with story after story about the positive things they were doing in the community.

I believe Gillette residents expect more out of their large employers than most other communities do.

Sure, you might have hundreds of workers and bring in millions of dollars to the economy, but what are you doing beyond that? How are you making Campbell County a better place? What charities are you donating to? What volunteer efforts are your employees participating in?

Look at any fundraiser, youth sports organization or community event. You’ll see construction companies, coal mines, oil field companies, the list goes on. Year after year, the industry invests in Campbell County. BWXT would be wise to do the same.

BWXT has the next five years to prove that they’ll be a good community partner. It’s commendable that they have engaged in public outreach this far in advance, but that’s just a necessity in their industry. Americans are naturally skeptical of anything to do with nuclear.

Some people will be opposed no matter what. But most residents, I believe, will get over the fear factor once they get a better understanding.

BWXT is on the clock. It’s time to start educating and gaining the people’s trust. You can have all the money in the world, but if you don’t have trust, you don’t have anything at all.