The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is still reviewing two petitions for intervention in the license transfer of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts, even though it approved the transfer in August ahead of the sale of the retired plant.
The “presidentially appointed Commission that oversees the NRC still has to rule on the requests for a hearing on the Pilgrim license transfer. The requests remain under review,” NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said by email Tuesday.
There is no time frame for a decision, he said.
The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office has already sued the NRC for approving the license transfer.
Power company Entergy retired the single-reactor plant on Cape Cod on May 31, less than a year after announcing in August 2018 that it would sell the facility to energy technology specialist Holtec International for decommissioning.
The commonwealth of Massachusetts and local advocacy group Pilgrim Watch in February filed petitions for intervention in the then-pending application for transfer of the NRC operations and spent fuel storage licenses for Pilgrim. If their petitions are approved, they would be able to present contentions regarding the license transfer at an adjudicatory hearing.
Both petitions broadly raised the same two concerns: Holtec and Entergy did not prove there are sufficient financial resources to complete decommissioning, including failing to consider unexpected expenses; and the commission failed to perform an environmental assessment or supplemental environmental impact statement for the license transfer, as required by federal law.
Entergy and Holtec opposed both petitions, saying the decommissioning trust fund for Pilgrim would hold over $1 billion at the time of the license transfer. It is anticipated to still have $200 million when decommissioning and site restoration are complete, according to their filings.
Sheehan said he could not say why the commission has not ruled on the petitions “other than to note the Commission will rule on the requests when ready to do so.”
