By John Stang
Staffers for two U.S. lawmakers and others on Tuesday raised concerns about whether there is enough money available for decommissioning the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts.
The issue came up during a Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting ahead of the anticipated application next month to transfer the plant’s operational license from owner Entergy to Holtec International. Regulatory approval is necessary for the New Jersey energy technology company to buy the single-reactor facility for decommissioning.
Entergy plans to close Pilgrim by June 1, 2019, and to complete the sale during the same year.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Jeff Cantwell, a former state lawmakers and current staff member for Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Michael Jackman, a staff member for Rep. Bill Keating (D-Mass.), voiced concerns about whether the decommissioning trust fund for Pilgrim is sufficient.
“What I’m looking for is certainty,” Cantwell said.
Mary Lampert, director of the watchdog organization Pilgrim Watch, echoed the concern: “If the wallet goes empty, and it can, then what?”
Pilgrim had $1.086 billion in it decommissioning trust fund on Aug.31. Holtec and Entergy believe the fund will be sufficient to pay for the cleanup program. If it takes ownership of the Cape Cod property, Holtec would be responsible for decommissioning, site restoration, and spent fuel management at Pilgrim.
“We have an interest in maintaining our reputation. … It’s not in our interest to do less than a stellar job on this. This is our long-term strategy,” said Pamela Cowan, senior vice president of Holtec Decommissioning International, at the meeting.
Holtec and Entergy contend the sale will speed up decommissioning of the 46-year-old Pilgrim plant, the sole operational nuclear energy facility in Massachusetts.
If Entergy remains owner, the site would be largely dormant until 2075, with decommissioning operations running from 2075 to 2083, followed by license termination that year and site restoration by 2084, according to its presentation to the NRC meeting. Holtec, meanwhile, would complete decommissioning by 2027. Full license termination would occur in 2063 — after the Department of Energy meets its legal requirement to remove the spent nuclear reactor fuel — and then site restoration in 2064, the companies project.
Holtec is expected to hire Comprehensive Decommissioning International for the decommissioning work. That entity is a new joint venture by majority partner Holtec International and Canadian engineering corporation SNC Lavalin.
The next scheduled steps in the process are for Holtec and Entergy in October to submit the following to the NRC: their license transfer application; two post-shutdown decommissioning activities reports, with updated decommissioning cost estimates, a revised used nuclear fuel plan; and a request for NRC permission to use decommissioning trust money for spent fuel management and site restoration.
