Nuclear waste disposal: a taxing Real Estate Issue

The impact that unbiased Counselors of Real Estate (CRE) expertise can have on negotiations between public and private entities is apparent in a recent ad valorem tax settlement between Maine Yankee Atomic Power Co and the town of Wiscasset, ME. Because a national facility for storing high-level nuclear waste still has not received federal approval, spent fuel rods may need to remain on the site of the decommissioned Maine Yankee nuclear power plant for 20 years or longer. The tax assessment, in a state that calls for market value, asserted that the nine-acre site used for storing this nuclear waste was worth more than $135 million, which prompted an appeal from the facility owner. Maine Yankee and the town of Wiscasset reached a reasonable settlement during a hearing of the board of tax appeals. The land was not credited with extraordinary valuation and, instead, was taxed as ordinary industrial land; the improvements were taxed on original cost less depreciation over time.