By Megan Anderson HOMETOWN NEWS megan@hometown-news.com Duke Energy won't make a final decision about building the William States Lee III Nuclear Station in Cherokee County before 2010, but things are starting to heat up now. As part of the application process for Duke to receive a combined construction and operating license application, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission held a public forum last week. The event at Gaffney High School served as an opportunity for local community members and environmental groups to express their views on the proposed plan's environmental impact. While close to 150 people turned out for the forum, opinions about bringing nuclear energy to Cherokee County ran both hot and cold. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy came out against the proposed plant. "The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy does not believe nuclear power is a good use of our finances right now because we have not fully taken advantage of all the renewable resources in our area," said media spokesman Ulla Reeves. "Nuclear power is a security risk for this country. We need to build power resources that aren't targets for terrorists." Local politicians, however, disagreed and were among the first to praise the benefits of the project. "As this plant will require in excess of 1000-plus construction workers for several years and 800-plus high paying jobs when up and running, this will be of tremendous economic impact to Cherokee County, surrounding counties and Upstate, South Carolina," said Gene Moorhead, Executive Director of the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce. "Duke Energy has demonstrated they are good corporate neighbors in Cherokee County and all of South Carolina by supporting community projects, events and non-profit fundraisers." While Duke waits for the NRC to approve their more than 8,000 page application, they have moved forward with preliminary parts of the project. Work is currently being done on the 2,000 acre McKown's Mountain site to prepare it for possible future construction. Existing structures are being demolished and the company is continuing to study transmission and railroad access. In a letter to local community members, Bryan Dolan, Vice-President of Nuclear Plant Development for Duke Energy, said, "We have not yet made a decision to build a new nuclear station, but taking these important actions now helps ensure we can keep new nuclear generation as an option in serving our customers safely and reliably in the future."