An environmental watchdog group that previously raised concerns about environmental law violations in the sale of Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station formally asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week to pump the brakes on the transaction, according to new documents.
In a motion dated Monday, Three Mile Island Alert (TMIA) argued that until the NRC gets confirmation from local environmental agencies that an EnergySolutions subsidiary company slated to decommission the Harrisburg, Pa. nuclear plant has a state water quality certification required under the 1972 Clean Water Act, they have to hold off on approving the sale. Watchdog group chair Eric Epstein told RadWaste Monitor by phone Wednesday that his organization filed their motion after he testified before the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) on the issue last week.
EnergySolutions, which announced in 2019 that it would buy Three Mile Island from Exelon, also has to amend its license application to include the certification, Epstein said in the motion.
The SRBC is currently looking into water usage at the plant, following TMIA’s February allegation that environmental law had been violated. Executive director Andrew Dehoff told RadWaste Monitor in an email Thursday that the commission hadn’t yet received figures for projected water use at the site.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection is also working with EnergySolutions, Exelon and other stakeholders to address the issue, a spokesman for the agency told RadWaste Monitor in an email Wednesday.
EnergySolutions didn’t return a request for comment on whether it had the necessary certification — or if it was trying to get one — by deadline for RadWaste Monitor Friday.
The NRC hadn’t responded to the watchdogs’ motion by deadline Friday.
