Indian Point Task Force Resets Meeting For Nov. 5

BUCHANAN, NY — The Indian Point Nuclear Decommissioning Citizen Advisory Panel will hold a virtual meeting Nov. 5.

The meeting comes at a time when the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is expected to provisionally approves the transfer of the NRC license for the Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan from Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. to Holtec Decommissioning International.

New York's Congressional delegation sent a letter to the NRC Oct. 23 renewing their call for the Commission to hold a public hearing and address state and community concerns first.

In the letter, the lawmakers expressed concerns that a failure to fully and fairly consider the concerns raised by the state and others prior to transferring the plant’s ownership deprives the residents and taxpayers of New York from participating in the proceeding, which could have significant environmental, health, and economic implications for the state and its local communities in the Lower Hudson Valley for years to come.

“During the recent virtual government-to-government and public meetings conducted by NRC staff on September 22, 2020, which were attended by representatives of our offices, it was made clear that the NRC staff intends to issue its order of approval for the application to transfer Indian Point’s licenses from Entergy Corporation (Entergy) to subsidiaries of Holtec International (Holtec) as soon as next month," wrote the lawmakers. "At the same meetings the NRC also informed the audience that its decision on the license transfer and exemption requests may be issued prior to these hearing requests being resolved.

"This is deeply disturbing when coupled with the fact that, over the last 8 months, the NRC has failed to act on New York’s and the Town of Cortlandt, Village of Buchanan, and the Hendrick Hudson School District’s petitions to intervene. We now face the prospect that the decision by NRC staff to transfer the plant’s license and grant regulatory exemptions may well be made before the various stakeholders representing the communities surrounding Indian Point have had an opportunity to fully present its contentions to the Commission in a hearing. Such an outcome would be wholly unacceptable to our constituents in the Lower Hudson Valley. Industry-driven timelines cannot, and should not, come before their health and safety and relevant economic concerns are duly considered."

Entergy and Holtec submitted a license transfer application to the NRC on Nov. 21, 2019. Once Indian Point is completely shut down in 2021, Holtec would then carry out all of the activities to decommission the plant, store the spent nuclear fuel, and restore the site to its original condition.

The closure of Indian Point will have significant impacts to the region, including to the environment, the local workforce, public services, state and municipal budgets, the school district, safety and emergency planning. Once the plant is shut down, significant reductions in the plant’s workforce are expected over time, a large amount of spent nuclear fuel will be indefinitely stored on-site, and the local municipalities will experience a major loss in revenue.

The lawmakers also drew attention to the fact that Holtec has already applied for exemptions to a number of safety and emergency planning requirements and will request another exemption to use money in the NRC’s Decommissioning Trust Fund for spent fuel management and restoration activities.

The local decommissioning task force was formed in March 2019 by Village of Buchanan Mayor Theresa Knickerbocker, Town of Cortlandt Supervisor Linda Puglisi, and several other local officials to prepare for the closure.

The Nov. 5 meeting is open to the public and all are invited to participate. A public comment period will be included.

• WHAT: Virtual meeting of the Indian Point Nuclear Decommissioning Citizen Advisory Panel (NDCAP).
• WHEN: 6 p.m. Nov. 5
• WHERE: Via Zoom and the Village of Buchanan Facebook page during which the meeting will be live. To participate via Zoom go to www.IndianPointCAP.com.

In attendance will be Village of Buchanan Mayor Theresa Knickerbocker, Chairperson; Town of Cortlandt Supervisor Linda Puglisi, Vice Chairperson; other representatives of local and state government and representatives of business, labor, environmental, and community organizations.

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