“January, 2017
E-Newsletter
www.clearwater.org
Indian Point to Close by 2021!
Clearwater wants to thank YOU for all of your hard work in helping the Hudson Valley to achieve this landmark agreement.
We can expect great changes to come:
Our Hudson River will finally begin to recover from the killing of billions of eggs, larvae and river creatures. Entergy will set up a fund to help restore the river after many years of inflicting damage.
The Hudson Valley will be a safer place. Until the plant closes, Entergy will undergo more frequent inspections of systems known to be problematic. “The good news is that they have agreed to move old (but still highly radioactive) fuel rods from the severely overcrowded fuel pools, to safer dry-cask storage, to make long-overdue repairs, and to allow more inspections and better oversight” said Manna Jo Greene.
We need to transition to renewable energy.
Clearwater believes that New York needs to create a similar plan as the one negotiated for Diablo Canyon, the last operating nuclear plant in California, which is scheduled to close in 6 years.
Even without a plan for renewable replacement energy in place, both the NY State Independent System Operators and the NYS Department of State have determined that there is currently sufficient energy on the grid to do without Indian Point due to energy efficiency and reduced energy consumption and the rapid increase in renewables resources.
Clearwater is also calling for a comprehensive plan to ensure the safest possible decommissioning that is fully funded by Entergy, and doesn’t end up becoming a burden to ratepayers or taxpayers.
And while all of this is exciting, and we have great hope for the future of the Hudson Valley, we can’t relax just yet.
It still leaves us in danger for three or four more years: “This is definitely a step in the right direction, but it still leaves us in danger for three to four more years. Indian Point has had an abysmal history of emergency shutdown, radioactive leaks, equipment failures, transformer explosions, degraded bolts inside the reactor core, and other problems. Without a viable evacuation plan, if something should go wrong between now and then,” said Manna Jo Greene, Environmental Action Director for Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, “the 20 million people that live or work within 50 miles of the plant and beyond remain in danger.”
Fish and other river life will continue being killed: “The intense water withdrawals used to cool the plant will continue to harm Hudson River fish and other aquatic species. This means four more years of massive fish kill, including billions of eggs and larvae through April 2021,” said Dave Conover, Clearwater’s Interim Executive Director. That said, we are very glad that an end is in sight and the danger and damage will be significantly reduce much sooner than a 20-year relicensing would have allowed.
________________________
With regard to the Article 78 lawsuit recently filed by Clearwater, Goshen Green Farms and others challenging the NYS Public Service Commission’s 12-year mandatory Tier 3 Nuclear Subsidy, Greene said, “The $7.6 billion dollar subsidy was designed mainly to bail out unprofitable nuclear plants in the western part of the state – and remains an unacceptable use of ratepayer dollars, which would be better invested in renewable energy infrastructure, storage and energy efficiency.”
