Short Summary
Our arraignment is scheduled for the Buchanan Village Court on Tuesday, March 8th. We plan to plead guilty to the charge of disorderly conduct.
What We Need
We have hired an attorney who is charging a modest fee to represent us as a group in the courtroom on March 8th. In addition, we expect that we will each need to pay individual fines for the disorderly conduct charge. We are are asking for your help in raising a total of $2,500-3,000 to cover these expenses.
If we are able to raise more funds than we need to cover the court costs, the extra money will be donated to the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition (IPSEC), which has been working to close Indian Point since 2001, and to the Stony Point Convergence, which has worked with us to close the plant since shortly after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and meltdown struck the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan.
The Impact
You can help us make a statement to Entergy (Indian Point’s owner) and to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that even if they don’t care about the health and safety of the 20 million people in the 50-mile radius, we do. Governor Cuomo has called for Indian Point’s closure; the New York Department of Environmental Conservation has refused to give Entergy a permit to draw from the Hudson River the 2.5 billion gallons of water they need to operate and cool the reactors each day. Congresswoman Nita Lowey has expressed her concern about the aging nuclear plant sitting one mile from the intersection of two fault lines in her Congressional district.
Why are the NRC and Entergy waiting to address the many safety issues of this aging plant? Help us, the #IndianPt11, get their attention by making a donation before our court appearance. Together, we can help our officials find the political will to close Indian Point before there are any more accidents that release radioactive materials and pollute our groundwater.
You can find more information about this urgent safety issue at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/17/opinion/is-indian-point-the-next-fukushima.html,
http://fortune.com/2016/02/28/indian-point-end-of-nuclear-age/,
Risks & Challenges
The lights will not go out and the trains will not stop running when Indian Point closes. Replacement power for Indian Point is already on-line. The New York State Department of State has determined there is no need for Indian Point’s electricity and the Public Service Commission is questioning whether Indian Point is needed.
The NRC and Entergy have not operated Indian Point safely. Radioactive leaks continue to pollute the Hudson River and groundwater. The threat of earthquake damage, continuing destruction of the Hudson River habitat for fish and river life, and continued leaks of radioactive water into the ground water are a clear and present danger.
