The state of New York is suing the Nuclear Regulatory commission over their refusal to delay the sale of Indian Point Energy Center, according to a Friday legal filing.
New York state attorney general Letitia James submitted the Friday petition to the D.C. circuit court of appeals, after the NRC denied the state’s request to intervene on the Indian Point license transfer on Jan. 15.
This filing adds to the gridlock around Indian Point’s decommissioning. Holtec International is supposed to take ownership of the plant from Entergy once the latter ceases all reactor operations in April. The plant’s Unit 1 reactor shut down in 1974, and Unit 2 was shuttered late last year. Indian Point’s Unit 3 reactor is the only still online.
The Indian Point saga hasn’t just attracted state attention, though. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), now the Senate majority leader, supported New York’s petition for a public hearing on the Indian Point sale in October.
In Friday’s filing, James asked the court to review legality of the Indian Point license transfer and voiced concern about the NRC’s legal exemption for Holtec, which allowed them to make use of preexisting trust funds set aside by the plant for decommissioning.
These actions were violations of the Atomic Energy Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and Commission regulations, James said in the brief.
The NRC declined Monday to comment on the current litigation. A spokesman for the Commission said in an email Monday that the agency would “provide a response at the appropriate time.”
