Your Guide to the June 11 & 12 Nuclear Energy Community Meetings
- ProtectMcCrackenCounty
- May 31
- 6 min read
Why These Meetings Matter
These are not just information sessions. According to the official press release from McCracken County and the City of Paducah, these meetings are being held as part of the formal process for McCracken County to obtain state designation as a Nuclear-Ready Community through the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority (KNEDA).
That designation has real consequences for what gets built here, how fast it moves, and how much say the community has once the process is complete. Public comment time will be available at both meetings. Use it.
Meeting Details:
Session 1 Thursday, June 11, 2026 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Paducah-McCracken Co. Convention and Expo Center
Session 2 Friday, June 12, 2026 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Paducah-McCracken Co. Convention and Expo Center
Attend whichever session you can. If you can attend both, do. Numbers matter.
Who Is Leading These Meetings — And Why That Matters
The press release describes Dr. Patrick White as "a respected industry leader" and "advanced nuclear and technology expert." That is technically accurate. But there is important context the press release leaves out, and you deserve to have it before you walk into that room.
Dr. White holds a B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and a M.S. and PhD in Nuclear Science and Engineering from MIT. His academic credentials are real.
He is also the Research Director of the Nuclear Innovation Alliance (NIA) — a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit whose explicit, stated organizational mission is to advance nuclear energy commercialization and deployment. The NIA describes itself as a "think-and-do tank" working to "catalyze the next era of nuclear energy." Promoting nuclear energy is not a side interest of Dr. White's employer. It is the reason the organization exists.
Dr. White has presented at Nuclear Regulatory Commission conferences and co-authored the 2018 MIT "Future of Nuclear Energy in a Carbon-Constrained World" study. He is knowledgeable. He is also an advocate — not a neutral academic, not a public health expert, not an environmental scientist, and not a representative of the communities that have lived with nuclear contamination.
The opening remarks at these meetings will be delivered by County Judge Executive Craig Clymer and Paducah Mayor George Bray — the same officials who entered into a nondisclosure agreement with GLE before the public knew this project was underway.
You are not walking into a neutral information session. You are walking into a pro-nuclear designation process, led by a pro-nuclear advocate, opened by officials who have already committed to this direction. Go informed.
Know the Key Facts
The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant cleanup is not projected to be complete until 2065
The estimated total cleanup cost is $17 billion
The site contains one of the largest groundwater contamination plumes in the entire federal Environmental Management complex
Technetium-99 contamination in the groundwater has a half-life of 200,000 years
PFAS contamination is still migrating and not under control
PCBs are present in creek tributaries flowing into the Ohio River
The county's local incentive package for GLE is hidden behind an NDA — McCracken County taxpayers cannot read the deal their tax dollars are funding
No agency — not the NRC, EPA, DOE, or Commonwealth of Kentucky — is required to assess the cumulative impact of all proposed activity at this site together
Prepare Your Public Comment
You will likely have three minutes for your statement. Write it out in advance and time yourself. Stay focused on one or two points. You don't need to cover everything — others will be there too.
On the cleanup timeline: "The DOE's own projections say cleanup of this Superfund site will not be complete until 2065. We are being asked to designate McCracken County as Nuclear-Ready before we have finished dealing with the nuclear legacy we already have. That does not make sense, and I would like to know who is requiring a cumulative impact study before this designation moves forward."
On the missing cumulative study: "The NRC, EPA, and DOE are each reviewing separate pieces of this situation in isolation. No agency at any level is required to look at all of it together. Before McCracken County takes any step toward a Nuclear-Ready designation, we need an independent, cumulative environmental and economic impact assessment. I would like to know who is going to require that — because right now, nobody is."
On the NDA: "Judge Executive Clymer has confirmed publicly that details of the incentives package granted to GLE by McCracken County are protected by a nondisclosure agreement. We cannot read the terms of the deal our tax dollars are funding. A community cannot give informed consent to a Nuclear-Ready designation when the financial terms driving it are hidden from them."
On broken promises in other communities: "Switch promised Michigan 1,000 jobs. It created 26. The state loosened the definition of a full-time job so Switch could keep its tax breaks, and Michigan had no mechanism to recover a single dollar. Before we go further, I want to know what enforceable protections will be written into any agreement with McCracken County — and who is going to enforce them."
Questions to Ask Dr. White Directly
These are pointed, respectful, and entirely fair. Dr. White is an expert in nuclear energy regulation and advocacy. These are questions he should be able to answer — and if he cannot, or will not, that is itself important information.
On his organization's position: "Dr. White, your employer, the Nuclear Innovation Alliance, is an organization whose stated mission is to advance the commercialization of nuclear energy. Can you help us understand how that mission affects the perspective you are bringing to these meetings, and whether there is any independent voice in this process that is not invested in a pro-nuclear outcome?"
On the cumulative impact gap: "The NRC, EPA, and DOE are each reviewing separate aspects of this situation independently. Is there any federal requirement that someone assess the cumulative environmental impact of all proposed activity at a Superfund site together? And if not, what is your recommendation for how McCracken County closes that gap before moving forward?"
On community health: "Kentucky has the highest cancer incidence and mortality rates in the nation. The Paducah site already has documented groundwater contamination that will persist for hundreds of thousands of years. What independent health impact assessment do you recommend this community require before accepting a Nuclear-Ready designation?"
On the contamination plumes: "The proposed GLE site is adjacent to the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant Superfund site, which has active groundwater contamination plumes — Technetium-99, PFAS, and trichloroethylene — that are still migrating and not under control. We know that construction on that site could accelerate plume migration, disturb contaminated soil, and interfere with the active cleanup systems currently operating on the Superfund site. What can you tell us about this risk?"
On the cleanup timeline: "DOE projects that cleanup of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant will not be complete until 2065. We are in one of the most critical phases of that cleanup right now. In your professional opinion, is it appropriate to site new uranium enrichment facilities adjacent to an active Superfund site before that cleanup is complete? And has anyone studied what new construction activity would mean for the ongoing remediation?"
On the NDA: "McCracken County Judge Executive Clymer has confirmed publicly that the local incentive package for GLE is protected by a nondisclosure agreement. In your experience working on nuclear regulatory and community siting issues, is it standard practice to complete a community designation process when the financial terms of the development agreement are not available for public review?"
How to Conduct Yourself
Be respectful and calm. Your credibility is your most powerful tool.
Do not interrupt the presenter or other speakers.
Do not be intimidated if officials push back. You have every right to be there and every right to ask these questions.
If someone asks something you cannot answer, it is perfectly appropriate to say: "I don't know the answer to that, but I would like to see it answered publicly before this process moves forward."
Sign in when you arrive. Your presence on the record matters.
What to Bring
A notecard with your public comment written out
A pen and paper to take notes
Your phone to record (Kentucky is a one-party consent state for recording in public
settings — confirm this applies to your specific situation before recording)
A friend. Bring someone.
After the Meeting
Share what happened. Post on social media, tag us, and send us your notes.
If something was said that concerned you or that you want us to address publicly, contact us through the website.
If your public comment was not answered adequately, we will help you put it in writing and submit it formally on the record.
Stay engaged. Stay informed. This is your community.