Legislation that would have given Massachusetts discretion over $25 million in annual funding for the decommissioning of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station failed during this legislative session, and the state instead will form an advisory panel to direct decommissioning activities.
Plant operator Entergy, citing economic factors, announced in October 2015 that it would shut Pilgrim down no later than June 2019 and possibly as early as spring 2017. The company said in March it would work within the political process to defeat two bills on Pilgrim introduced by state Sen. Daniel Wolf (D). The legislative session concluded Sunday.
The first bill (S. 1798) would have established an escrow account of $25 million per year to supplement existing funds to make “sure the plant is decommissioned as quickly and completely as possible.” The second (S. 1797) would have charged Entergy an annual fee of $10,000 for every spent fuel rod assemblies held in wet storage, therefore incentivizing the company to transfer fuel into dry storage, which Wolf and other officials consider a safer storage option. That money, which would total more than $30 million based on the estimated 3,000 fuel rods in wet storage, would be split between more than 30 towns in Massachusetts.
The second bill never received full consideration because Attorney General Maura Healey advised against it, citing the potential to pre-empt the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s authority to oversee safety matters at nuclear plants. The escrow account bill, meanwhile, did not survive the conference committee level, with opposition coming from House representatives.
Language included in an amendment to the state Senate energy bill, which the legislature approved and is awaiting the governor’s signature, will establish a nuclear decommissioning citizens advisory panel. Authors of the bill modeled the advisory panel after one in Vermont, where citizens serve on a board directing decommissioning plans at Entergy’s Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. The Massachusetts panel will have 21 members, including state and local officials; House- and Senate-appointed representatives; and Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station representatives.
