Make your voice heard re Indian Point decommissioning March 17 at 6 pm!
Please send this out to your lists and social media contacts.
Many thanks to Gale Pisha for her skillful editing. What an improvement!
The Indian Point Decommissioning Oversight Board will have its next meeting on March 17 at 6 PM. It is critical that the public attend and let the Board know the process needs to be done safely!
Please note that this a Webex meeting, not Zoom. Plan on it taking a longer time to log in. Here is one way to join the meeting (from NYS online information). I did register so it is working. Click yes to speak (talking points below).
- Electronic Access:
Click Here
Or visit www.webex.com and enter the event number (161 647 6325) and password (indianpoint317)
It is important to have a good turnout at these public meetings so that everyone on the Board understands that our issues are not going to fade away. The environmental representative on the DOB, Richard Webster of Riverkeeper, is on the agenda and will make a 30 minute presentation of our concerns. We need community members to speak up!
Rick Kuprewicz, a pipeline expert will also be making a presentation. Hopefully we will be able to use comments in the chat for additional questions.
Comments on the system and how the meeting is run would be good so that this relatively new Board can improve its communication with the community. It surely needs work.
Here are several major asks:
- Close the nearby Algonquin gas pipelines while deconstruction is in progress.
- The emergency evacuation plan must be clarified. What are the lines of lines of communication and how is the public notified?
- Provide 24/7 monitoring for any traces of radioactive dust from the plant, especially for the school closest to the plant. Access to the results in real time is critical.
- The reactor and the location where the spent fuel is being stored has always been easily visible from the Hudson River. As a safety measure, add an earthen berm to block this line of sight from the River to the casks where the old fuel is being stored. This would not be expensive in the context of decommissioning and could reduce the chance of an attack from that direction.
More on high level radioactive waste storage
- Holtec plans to ship highly radioactive waste to New Mexico as part of its decommissioning plan. The people and Governor of New Mexico do not want it and are already in court trying to block it. Transporting high level radioactive fuel rods across the country is dangerous and unwarranted. This is called Centralized Interim Storage and right now it is against the law.
- No high level radioactive waste from Indian Point should be shipped away. It is our regional responsibility to take care of it. What is their plan B if CIS is not approved by Congress?
Thanks for your help to make the decommissioning process safer!
Marilyn ElieSierra Club Lower Hudson Group Executive Committee
