WASHINGTON, March 20 (UPI) -- Federal authorities on Thursday assured both of Arizona's senators that all necessary steps were being taken to protect the security of the Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant, following a report that it might be the target of a planned terrorist attack.
Department of Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham told Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that several federal agencies were coordinating their efforts under the direction of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ensure that everything ossible is done to protect Arizona's citizens.
Abraham also expressed confidence in the government's ability to effectively respond to any threats to this facility.
The Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant, which is located 50 miles west of Phoenix in Tonopah, Ariz., has three reactors that produced 30 billion kilowatt hours of electricity last year.
"During this time of heightened alert it is imperative that the federal government take all actions available to maintain the security of the Palo Verde Plant," McCain said.
Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said he had been assured that the FBI's investigation into the plant's security "is proceeding appropriately and that all necessary precautions are being taken."
Arizona National Guard troops were dispatched to the nuclear power plant this week after federal officials developed information that the facility might be the target of a planned terrorist attack, the Washington Times reported Thursday.
The Times reported that Gov. Janet Napolitano decided to station troops at the Palo Verde plant after an "uncorroborated report" that unidentified Middle East terrorists had their eye on the plant.
In a statement released Thursday, Napolitano declined to comment on any specific threats that may have been made against the power plant.
"My decision to send troops was a direct result of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security request relative to nuclear power plants," the governor said. "We are confident everything is being done to ensure the protection and security of the facility."
She added that the troops are supplementing the power plant's security system.
"We understand the sensitivity of this time, and we are very, very committed to protecting the safe operation of Palo Verde," Jim McDonald, a spokesman for the Arizona Public Service Co., told the newspaper.
State officials said Napolitano would have assigned the National Guard to the plant even without the reported threat once the national terrorist threat level was raised to orange.
Palo Verde consists of three reactors with a capacity to generate 3,810 megawatts of electricity. It serves utilities in Southern California and other Southwestern states as well as Arizona.
The newspaper said that details of the alleged plot were sketchy, but suspicions of anti-terrorism officials were raised with the arrest of six Iraqi nationals who landed in Tijuana, Mexico on Tuesday night on a flight from Europe.
Also, the Border Patrol found a knapsack along a desert trail in southern Arizona that contained a dairy written in Arabic.
