Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that following her push, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will host a public meeting in Westchester on the decommissioning of Indian Point Energy Center. This meeting will advise the public on efforts by community advisory panels to inform best practices and lessons learned associated with the decommissioning plant activity, ensuring that local voices are heard by the NRC. With Indian Point scheduled to shut down beginning next year, local stakeholders have raised concerns about the effects this process will have on the surrounding communities and site workers, the storage and transportation of spent fuel, and the long-term remediation of the site. Earlier this year, Gillibrand urged the NRC to hold a public meeting in Westchester to ensure New Yorkers’ concerns are heard.
“New Yorkers deserves full transparency and input as Indian Point begins the process of shutting down, which is why I pushed for a public meeting. Indian Point’s close proximity to heavily populated cities, including New York City, raises unique considerations that must be carefully addressed, and I’m glad that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has taken the important step of holding a public meeting in Westchester before this process begins,” said Senator Gillibrand. “I’m hopeful this meeting will help to ensure a productive relationship between the residents of Westchester County and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the years-long decommissioning process, and I will stand ready to provide any support necessary to ensure the safest and best possible outcome for the local communities affected by the closure of Indian Point.”
Indian Point Energy Center is a three-unit nuclear power plant station located in Buchanan, New York. It includes two operating pressurized water reactors, designated “Indian Point 2” and “Indian Point 3,” both of which are scheduled to be shut down by 2021. The specific date of the public meeting has not been announced, but is tentatively expected to take place between August and October.
The full text of Senator Gillibrand’s letter to the NRC from earlier this year can be found here and below:
Kristine L. Svinicki
Chairman
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC 20555
Dear Chairman Svinicki:
As the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) considers locations to host public meetings to discuss best practices associated with nuclear power plant decommissioning activities, I urge you to consider holding a public meeting in Westchester, New York where Indian Point Energy Center is located. As the plant is scheduled to shutdown beginning next year and with the recent announcement of the post-shutdown sale to Holtec International, local stakeholders are deeply concerned about the decommissioning process.
The community has already raised a number of concerns about the transparency of the decommissioning process, as well as the potential impacts, including the sufficiency of the decommission trust fund, the effect on site workers, the safe storage and transportation of spent fuel, and the long term remediation of the site. These are all important issues that are relevant to the NRC’s stakeholder process. Additionally, Indian Point’s proximity to New York City and densely populated suburban communities raise unique considerations that must be addressed.
Given the direct local impact to New York, I urge the NRC to hold a public hearing in Westchester County to give New Yorkers a voice at the table.
Sincerely,
Kirsten Gillibrand
United States Senator