“Indian Point Closing Will Have ‘Catastrophic’ Effect: Westchester County Exec” by Lanning Taliaferro

“WHITE PLAINS, NY — The closure of the Indian Point nuclear power plant would have a ‘catastrophic’ effect on jobs, taxes and electric bills in the county and across the region, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino said Friday afternoon.

Astorino called a press conference after the New York Times reported an agreement between Entergy, the national power company that owns Indian Point, and the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who’s been trying to shut down the plant for years.

The governor’s office is saying Friday afternoon that there’s no confirmed agreement, according to news reports.

If true, and if it comes to pass, “Economically it’ll have a big effect,” Astorino said, citing jobs, property taxes and electric rates.

Indian Point is a major employer in the county — about 1,000 jobs that would be lost or go elsewhere, he said. It also has a ripple effect on businesses in and around Cortlandt.

Entergy is half of the village of Buchanan’s tax base, pays much of the property taxes that support the Hendrick Hudson School District, $1 million a year to the town of Cortlandt and pays Westchester $4.5 million a year in lieu of taxes, Astorino said.

Moreover, the Westchester region is only second to Hawaii in electricity costs, Astorino said, predicting that rates would pass the Aloha state were IP to be closed.

“What I am asking for immediately is a meeting with the governor and his team,” Astorino said, adding that he wants to have officials from Cortlandt and Buchanan included.

Cuomo has been calling for Indian Point to close for a long time, and in recent years the state has redoubled its efforts to make that happen.

“This has been a political hot potato for a long time,” Astorino said, “and no one plays the game better than the governor with Indian Point. Not a drop of oil falls without him calling for it to be shut down.””

To read the complete story at Peekskill Patch, click the link below:

http://patch.com/new-york/peekskill/indian-point-closure-will-have-catastrophic-effect-westchester-county-exec