After the Environmental Protection Agency last week threatened to throw the book at Holtec International over proposed wastewater discharges from a Massachusetts nuclear power plant, the decommissioning company is preparing a response, a spokesperson said Monday.
Holtec will “respond accordingly” to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Dec. 5 letter reiterating concerns about the company’s proposal to discharge irradiated water from Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station’s spent fuel pool into the nearby Cape Cod Bay, a spokesperson told the Exchange Monitor via email Monday.
In its letter, EPA argued that the proposed action runs afoul of the Plymouth, Mass., plant’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The company would need to secure an amendment to the permit to be allowed to discharge Pilgrim’s wastewater, the agency said.
EPA also raised concerns about recent comments from Holtec that “appear to contemplate the possibility of intentional noncompliance” with the NPDES permit, and warned the company that refusing to comply with regulations would result in enforcement action from the agency.
Holtec’s spokesperson told the Exchange Monitor Monday that the company intends to apply for a NPDES permit modification, and said that it “look[s] forward to continued face-to-face dialogue with the regulator through the modification process.”
“Holtec remains committed to being open and transparent as we work with our regulators regarding the eventual disposal of processed water from the Pilgrim site,” the spokesperson said. “We will follow the permitting process as we continue to work with the EPA and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.”
Camden, N.J.-based Holtec has said previously it would not discharge any wastewater from Pilgrim in 2022 and that any releases would likely begin early next year. The company has defended the practice, saying in January that such discharges were normal for nuclear plants.
Holtec acquired the Pilgrim plant from former operator Entergy Corp. in 2018. The company has said that it could finish decommissioning the site by 2027.