Holtec argues that the state has no authority to prohibit the discharge of radioactive water into Cape Cod Bay
Holtec International, which owns the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant, has appealed against the discharge of radioactive water into Cape Cod Bay.
Last month, the state denied Holtec a permit to drain nearly 1 million gallons of water from Pilgrim’s nuclear reactor system as part of the plant’s decommissioning.
Holtec’s appeal is based on two main ideas: first, that the discharge of water from Pilgrim is protected under state law and second, that federal law supersedes state decisions regarding nuclear waste.
“The appeal explains that our permit was issued before the passage of the Ocean Sanctuaries Act, which protected this type of liquid discharge,” said Holtec spokesman Patrick O’Brien.
The company argues that Massachusetts cannot completely ban the release of radioactive material because that is the federal government’s responsibility.
Boston attorney Jed Nosal filed the Aug. 16 appeal with the state Board of Appeals and Dispute Resolution on behalf of a Holtec subsidiary, Holtec Decommissioning International, which is dismantling Pilgrim and cleaning the Plymouth property for future reuse.
Appeal proceedings can take a year or more, during which time the water continues to evaporate into the outside air.
Andrew Gottlieb, executive director of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, said that’s exactly what Holtec wants.
“They are using the appeal to buy time,” he said. “And what they are buying with time is the opportunity to further accelerate the evaporation of the wastewater so that it is eventually gone, at minimal cost to them.”
Some local activists want Holtec to truck the water to an approved disposal facility outside the state.
The company says all options are on the table, but continues to pursue discharging the water into Cape Cod Bay.
“I think they’ve come to the conclusion that the legal fees are less than the transportation costs,” Gottlieb said. “And so they’re going to litigate until the matter is settled, and then they’re done.”
He said a delay would also allow the decommissioning trust fund to increase in value, allowing Holtec to make more profit from the work.
In his email response to allegations that Holtec was trying to buy time, O’Brien said the company was following the regulatory process.
“We do not know how long this call will last, but complete evaporation of water at Pilgrim would take several years and continues to occur naturally, as it has since the plant was commissioned,” O’Brien wrote.
To reduce impurities, the water is filtered, but not all of it can be removed.
The Appeals Board within the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection – the same agency that denied the permit – is the final authority for an administrative appeal before the matter can go to court.
This story is a production of the New England News Collaborative. It was originally published by CAI.
