Dumping Indian Point Radioactive Wastewater: Greenburgh Joins Protest

CORTLANDT, NY — Opposition keeps growing to a plan to discharge a million gallons of radioactive water into the Hudson River in August as part of the decommissioning of the Indian Point nuclear power plants.

A groundswell of public voices are objecting to Holtec International’s planned discharges.

More than 435,000 have signed a petition on change.org asking Holtec's leaders to refrain.

Earlier in March, the Westchester County Board of Legislators announced it "vehemently" opposed the plan. Rockland County lawmakers passed a similar resolution.

The Greenburgh Town Board unanimously approved a resolution last week urging the state to make it illegal.

"There are significant health, safety and economic risks," said Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner. "I hope that every community in NYS will approve similar resolutions and strongly encourage the State Legislature to approve this important action."

State Sen. Pete Harckham and Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg are sponsoring a bill in Albany that would prohibit any discharge of any radiological agent into the waters of the state.

"We wouldn't want people to feel inhibited in their recreation or in moving to our communities because of the stigma of radioactive wastewater," Levenberg said.

Under the legislation, failure to comply would result in fines of $25,000 per day for a first violation, $50,000 per day for a second violation and $150,000 per day per violation thereafter.

The group United for Clean Energy thinks the fines should be 20 times higher.

Holtec officials pointed out the facility has discharged treated water to the Hudson since 1962, with state and federal permits. "The data on these releases are publicly available on the NRC’s website for Indian Point and all reactors." Holtec said the waste would be filtered to reduce the content of carcinogenic contaminants to a level that is as low as reasonably achievable.

Riverkeeper has called for alternatives to be explored for disposal of the tritium.

Here's the text of the Greenburgh Town Board's resolution:

WHEREAS, the company decommissioning the Indian Point nuclear facility, approximately 30 miles north of Greenburgh, proposes to discharge one (1) million gallons of radioactive wastewater into the Hudson River upstream from Greenburgh from a spent nuclear fuel pool at the Indian Point facility; and;

WHEREAS, Bill 5181 pending in the New York Senate proposes to make it unlawful to discharge any radiological agent into the Hudson River and all other waters of the State of New York, citing “radioactive material poses not only a possible health risk but also a serious economic risk to our communities with potential negative impacts on real estate values” and further citing the need to protect and preserve the state’s water sources; and

WHEREAS, the Town Board agrees with prohibiting discharging radiological agents into the Hudson River and other state water bodies; and WHEREAS, the remedy presently provided in Senate Bill 5181 is monetary fines, enforced by the state Attorney General; and WHEREAS, the Town Board believes that preventing discharge of radiological agents into watercourses in the first place, rather than after-the-fact fines, would be more protective of the public interest;

and WHEREAS, the Town Board believes it would be beneficial and in the public interest if the remedies in Senate Bill 5181 would be broadened to add the right to obtain an injunction, by the State Attorney General, the State Department of Environmental Conservation and any municipality whose residents or environment is potentially affected;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of Greenburgh respectfully requests the members of the New York State Legislature who represent Greenburgh to seek to broaden the remedies in Senate Bill 5181 to add the right to obtain an injunction, by the State Attorney General, the State Department of Environmental Conservation and any municipality whose residents or environment is potentially affected, and to seek adoption of Senate Bill 5181, as amended, by the New York Senate and Assembly;

and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Town Clerk shall transmit a copy of this Resolution to the members of the New York Legislature who represent Greenburgh