Is Rep. Steve Rudy Setting the Stage for a Nuclear Power Plant to be Built in McCracken, Ballard, or Livingston Counties? Rep. Rudy has co-sponsored HB 542 with Senator Leeper and Senator Borders. This legislation has the potential to redefine how power and energy will be created in West Kentucky. HB 542 rewrites the standards for nuclear waste management and disposal. This bill will make it easier for a nuclear power plant to locate in the Jackson Purchase. Rudy’s district borders both the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. There is already a major nuclear waste management operation in West McCracken County, Kentucky. This point of geography is very important in considering where to locate a nuclear power plant. It is all about water, lots of water. A typical nuclear power plant needs millions of gallons to serve as coolant for its operations. The geography of the prime sites for a nuclear power plant in West Kentucky include these locations. 1. Area around Monkey’s Eyebrow in northern Ballard County, along the Ohio River. 2. Area around existing nuclear waste processing plant in West Paducah. 3. All of Livingston County, especially along the Ohio River just north of Smithland,Kentucky. 4. Area around Vulcan Materials port on the Tennessee River, just south of the TVA dam. This area provides access for water from the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers as well as a close link into the TVA power grid at the dam.