The governor of Massachusetts last week struck down a provision in a recently-passed economic development bill aimed at blocking proposed wastewater discharge from a nuclear power plant under decommissioning, saying that it would step on the federal government’s toes.
Although Gov. Charlie Baker (D) on Thursday signed the state’s sweeping economic development package, he vetoed part of the bill that would have established a state commission to study the environmental and economic effects of Holtec International’s plan to discharge irradiated wastewater from the former Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station.
In an explanation attached to the veto document, Baker reasoned that such a commission “would be duplicative of, and would interfere with, ongoing work on waste disposal and decommissioning issues by the responsible federal and state agencies.”
According to Massachusetts state law, line items vetoed by the governor are returned to the legislature, which can override them with a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers unless the legislative session is adjourned.
Baker’s veto puts an end to what was state Sen. Susan Moran’s (D) most recent attempt to prevent Holtec from following through on its proposal to release the Plymouth, Mass., Pilgrim plant’s wastewater into the nearby Cape Cod Bay. If her proposed provision had been made law, the New Jersey nuclear services company would have been barred from taking such an action until 2025 or so.
Moran, who represents Plymouth and the nearby community of Barnstable, Mass., has long been an opponent of the proposed discharges. The state senator said in February during a stakeholder meeting that Massachusetts should “never allow” Holtec to release Pilgrim’s wastewater into the bay.
“I was disappointed by Governor Baker vetoing this important piece of the bill,” Moran told the Exchange Monitor in a statement Wednesday. “We have had several meetings with members of his administration since this language was adopted in July, and at no time has anyone ever raised a red-flag or shown any concern about the amendment.”
The state senator said that she is working with colleagues to plan “a path forward” for the proposed amendment, which could come in the form of “overriding the Governor’s vetoes or fast-tracking this at the beginning of next session.”
“The only explanation we have received is that it was redundant,” Moran said, “but I don’t think it is redundant to anyone who relies on Cape Cod Bay for their livelihood or recreation.”
Meanwhile, Holtec has also faced consternation from the Bay State’s congressional delegation, who wrote the company Nov. 2 to express concern about what they said was a “misinterpretation” of the Pilgrim plant’s federal pollutant discharge permit.
Holtec has said that the plant’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit allows it to release the plant’s spent fuel pool water — but the Environmental Protection Agency, which administers the permit, has called the company’s interpretation “novel.”
A Holtec spokesperson told the Exchange Monitor last week that the company “will comply with our permits related to potential future discharge.” Should a discharge be deemed illegal, the spokesperson said, “we would look at alternative means of disposal.”
Holtec has already said that it would not release any wastewater from Pilgrim in 2022, and that it could start doing so early next year. The company acquired the plant from former operator Entergy Corp. in 2018, and has said that it could finish decommissioning the site by 2027 or so.
Updated 11/16/2022 9:16 Eastern time with comment from state Sen. Susan Moran.
