The county executives in the Hudson Valley who come from both major political parties have united in opposition to the plan to dump radioactive wastewater from the Indian Point nuclear powerplant into the Hudson River. With leading environmentalists also on hand, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus, Rockland County Executive Ed Day, Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne, and Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger got together at The Factoria located on the Hudson River waterfront in Peekskill on April 17. They welcomed the suspension of a plan to dump radioactive water into the Hudson beginning in May and then went a step further and demanded that any planned dump of the toxic water be abandoned.
Bowing to intense pressure, Holtec, the company that took over Indian Point from Entergy and is responsible for its decommissioning under the control of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission decided to suspend its water dumping plan. Holtec originally planned to release from 500,000 to one million gallons of radioactive water into the Hudson beginning in August but then moved up the start date to May.
The county executives called for Holtec to now launch a transparent and thorough review of the Indian Point situation, including hearing from local residents and officials on how best to deal with contaminated wastewater at the plant.
“Holtec heard the clear call by all concerned parties to stop the plan to dump Indian Point wastewater into the majestic Hudson River but this battle is far from over,” Latimer said. “We need a plan for this radioactive wastewater from Indian Point, and we need the plan to protect the health of the people who call the Hudson Valley home. Decisions need to be made considering the welfare of the residents and the environment, not just Holtec”™s bottom line.”
Day characterized what Holtec had planned to do as an environmental atrocity.
“Our unanimous opposition paid off, which includes pending New York state legislation to ban the discharging of radioactive waste into the Hudson River and a petition with over 400,000 signatures,” Day said. “The voice of the people still indeed carries weight and can turn the tide.”
Day pointed out that Holtec also is trying to dump 1.1 million gallons of water from the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Massachusetts into Cape Cod Bay but has been stopped for now by the Environmental Protection Agency.
“If Holtec is willing to risk an entire fishing industry clearly they will not blink an eye at dumping radioactive waste into our Hudson River here,” Day said.
Byrne said, “We recognize and realize that the Hudson River brings a tremendous amount of benefits to the Hudson Valley, not just environmentally, but also to our health, also to our economy, to our tourism, you name it.”
Byrne said that while the area no longer receives the benefit of carbon-free energy generation from the nuclear plant, it is now being asked to absorb the risk of dumping radioactive water.
“There are absolutely other alternative solutions and we need to be very clear in our resolve to say under no circumstances will any of our local officials support any effort to dump this wastewater into our beautiful Hudson River,” Byrne said.
Metzger said, “I’m here on behalf of Ulster County communities upstream of Indian Point to express our strong and united opposition to Holtec’s plans to discharge treated radioactive waste into the Hudson River. We have been fighting corporate polluters for too many decades.”
Metzger said that the wastewater should be safely stored on the Indian Point site while better disposal methods are evaluated.
“This plan must be in keeping with our knowledge and valuers in 2023, not with the 1960 standards of the nuclear power industry, which viewed local waterways as a garbage bin that would absorb the cost of doing business and help their bottom line,” Metzger said. “In the Hudson Valley we love our clean air and our clean water and we are willing to fight for it.”
Neuhaus said, “We really can’t take any chances. We have an obligation to protect our citizens. When you see us really united like this you know it’s important.”
Latimer said that when there are regional issues it’s important that government leaders get together to deal with them.
“The success and the health of this river is very much a common interest,” Latimer said. “We are pleased that Holtec paused but we want more than a pause. We want a full stop and we want to be part of the decision-making process to understand what the options are.”
