As Indian Point 2 Shuts Down, Local Officials Take Stock

BUCHANAN, NY — Control room operators at Entergy Corp.’s Indian Point Unit 2 are shutting down the reactor Thursday for the final time, after more than 45 years of producing nuclear power. With just hours to go, members of the Indian Point Task Force met on Zoom to reiterate the local impact.

"This is a difficult day in our community," said Cortlandt Town Supervisor Linda Puglisi.

A nuclear power plant has been operating at Indian Point for almost 60 years. Unit 1 was built in 1962. Unit 2 began commercial operation in 1974.

During the meeting, local officials emphasized the major hit to local schools, fire, recreation and other services. The Verplanck fire department loses 64 percent of its budget. The Hendrick Hudson school district loses one-third of its annual revenues. The village of Buchanan, town of Cortlandt and Westchester County also will experience large budget shortfalls.

"Sometimes things need to be said," said Buchanan Mayor Theresa Knickerbocker. "I just find it disturbing that the anti-nuclear people are celebrating the misery of this community."

In a news release sent out earlier Thursday, several environmentalist groups marked the shutdown and touted the recently-launched Beyond Indian Point campaign.

"The tangible dangers posed by this aging plant — designed before most Americans were even born — are just too great," Richard Webster, Legal Program Director for Riverkeeper, said in the release. "In contrast, the opportunity to replace it with job-creating, community-revitalizing renewable energy offers a tailor-made engine for economic recovery.”

In the Zoom meeting, Michael Toomey of Entergy, which purchased Indian Point in 2001, thanked the men and women who have worked at the plants over the years. He said 40 employees from Indian Point have accepted offers to continue with Entergy in other locations.

Deb Milone, president of the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce, thanked Entergy for all the philanthropic support the company gave the community.

Many on the Zoom meeting said they're still grappling with the shock of the surprise announcement three years ago from Entergy, Riverkeeper and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo that the company had agreed to shut down the plant and Riverkeeper and state officials had agreed to withdraw their lawsuits. The other operating unit at the site, Unit 3, is scheduled to permanently shut down by April 30, 2021.

Now they're concerned about a number of issues in addition to the loss of revenue. Assemblywoman Sandy Galef told the meeting that she and state Sen. Peter Harckham were working on the state's cessation fund, which is meant to help municipalities where electricity-generating plants close by reimbursing a portion of lost tax revenues for a few years.

Pat Keegan from Rep. Nita Lowey's office said the congresswoman is still fighting for the STRANDED Act, which would provide funding to communities stuck with spent nuclear fuel due to the failure of the federal government to follow through on its commitments.

In April 2019, Entergy announced the proposed post-shutdown sale of the subsidiaries that own Unit 1, Unit 2 and Unit 3 to a Holtec International subsidiary. Holtec and its team plan to initiate decommissioning at Indian Point promptly following regulatory approvals and transaction close in 2021, and it expects to release portions of the site for re-use nearly 40 years sooner than if Entergy continued to own the facility.

Holtec, through its affiliate Comprehensive Decommissioning International, would hire Entergy’s employees at Indian Point who have been selected for “Phase 1” of decommissioning.