A citizens’ advisory panel was scheduled Monday to discuss a controversial proposal that would see irradiated wastewater from a shuttered Massachusetts power plant discharged into the Cape Cod Bay, according to a meeting agenda.
Holtec International, which is currently decommissioning the Plymouth, Mass., Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, is set to provide the community-led nuclear decommissioning citizens’ advisory panel (NDCAP) with an update on its plan to dispose of the facility’s wastewater during Monday’s meeting.
The NDCAP was scheduled to meet in-person in Plymouth at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time. Members of the public interested in participating remotely can do so via Zoom.
Holtec has previously said it is considering releasing irradiated water from the plant into the nearby Cape Cod Bay as part of its decommissioning strategy — a plan that has been met with consternation from stakeholders, lawmakers and even some federal agencies.
The Environmental Protection Agency in June told Holtec that it “does not agree” with the company’s interpretation of an agency-administered pollutant discharge permit, which EPA called “novel.”
Massachusetts’ U.S. Senators said Holtec has committed not to release any of Pilgrim’s wastewater in 2022 and is reviewing alternative disposal methods. Despite that, CEO Kris Singh told Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) in June that one such strategy — shipping the plant’s water to an offsite disposal facility — would not be feasible.
Singh told Markey during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing in May that Holtec would secure community consent before discharging any irradiated water into the Cape Cod Bay. Holtec has said that such a release would likely end up part of its decommissioning strategy.
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 or so.
