Indian Point Sues New York State

Entergy filed suit in federal court last week in Albany against the state of New York, arguing that two actions state officials took at the end of 2015 improperly encroached on federal regulation of the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan.

The first was the Department of State’s formal statement that the plant violates its coastal management policies, which protect wildlife habitat and recreational activities on the Hudson River; and the second was a state investigation ordered after an electrical disturbance in transmission lines caused an unplanned shutdown of Unit 3.

Entergy officials said:

Entergy is seeking a judgment by a federal court to invalidate NYS Department of State’s unlawful November 6 objection to Indian Point’s coastal consistency certification, which was made in an effort to block license renewal for the facility.

While states have the right to participate in the federal regulatory stakeholder process relative to nuclear power plant operations, well-established federal law – including a 2013 ruling related to Entergy’s Vermont Yankee facility -- clearly precludes any state from using presumed nuclear safety issues as a basis for decision making in a state regulatory review, as NYSDOS has done with its Nov. 6 objection.

Indian Point is a safely operated facility, regulated in accordance with strict licensing and operational guidelines and overseen by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, with its special expertise and training in nuclear power plant operations and safety. NRC inspectors spend thousands of hours each year reviewing plant operations and data and have stated Indian Point is a safe plant.

Aside from the coastal management objection, the latest example of the state’s attempts to encroach on the federal government’s nuclear safety management of Indian Point is an investigation of the plant, launched last month by the New York Department of Public Service. Entergy has written a letter to the New York State Public Service Commission objecting to that probe in part because it pre-empts federal regulation.

Indian Point is a critical piece of NY’s electrical infrastructure, reliably providing about 25% of the electricity consumed in NYC and Westchester annually, while emitting virtually no greenhouse gases.

The Department of Public Service and the Department of State are not the only state agencies active in New York’s fight against Indian Point.

In addition to the investigation and the objection, the Department of State Operations has also weighed in recently, sending a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regarding its Atomic Safety and Licensing Board hearing on the relicensing application.

The argument there is that the plant and its component parts are aging, the reactors are located in a heavily populated area and the evacuation and safety plans are inadequate.

The state’s moves came right as the NRC re-opened its hearing into the relicensing request.

And they came just after Entergy announced it would close its nuclear power plant near Oswego, a move that infuriated Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who wants to keep it open and close Indian Point.