Judge Allows Indian Point Discharges

Holtec says no wastewater releases imminent
A federal judge ruled on Wednesday (Sept. 24) that the state overstepped its authority when it passed a law to prevent the company decommissioning Indian Point from discharging radioactive wastewater into the Hudson River.
The Save the Hudson act was passed in August 2023 to prevent Holtec International from discharging water containing tritium as it decommissions the shuttered nuclear power plant near Peekskill. Holtec sued in April 2024, arguing that the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 gives the federal government the "exclusive right to regulate the discharge of radioactive materials from nuclear power plants."
The company also argued in its lawsuit that the discharges would be far below the federal government's limits for tritium in wastewater, and that Indian Point routinely made similar discharges during the 50 years the plant operated. Judge Kenneth Karas in White Plains agreed, ruling Wednesday that Holtec was within its rights as it had assured compliance with federal regulations.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has not yet announced whether she will appeal the decision. But Holtec officials said Thursday (Sept. 25), during a meeting of the Indian Point Decommissioning Oversight Board (DOB), that the company is not planning any discharges in the near term, and that they would discuss the issue with local stakeholders at a meeting next month. Even if the company decides to release wastewater into the Hudson, it needs to give the state a minimum 30-day notice.
"Everyone is still digesting this," said state Sen. Peter Harckham, one of the Save the Hudson act's sponsors. "We don't know what the attorney general will do. I think we all need to wait and let the process play out, however it's going to play out in the courts."
Holtec also said on Thursday that it is not considering reopening Indian Point - despite a recent article in Politico in which Kelly Trice, the company's president, said that it would be possible. The company estimates that rebuilding the reactors would cost $8 billion to $10 billion and take four years. Its estimate was prepared because the federal Department of Energy is "asking everyone that has a closed or decommissioned site," said Patrick O'Brien, a Holtec official.
"The question we always get asked is, 'Is it possible to potentially rebuild Indian Point?' " he said at the DOB meeting. "Our goal is to answer the question once and for all publicly and just say yes, but if the political will exists."
If Holtec did try to reopen Indian Point, it would face numerous hurdles. First, as part of the shutdown agreement, any plans to again create nuclear energy at the site must be unanimously approved by the Village of Buchanan, the Town of Cortlandt, Westchester County, New York State and the Hendrick Hudson School District.
At the DOB meeting, Susan Spear, Westchester's commissioner of emergency services, read a statement from County Executive Ken Jenkins in which he declared that the county "will not agree to support and will oppose any application for nuclear reactors at the Indian Point site." According to Jenkins, "We need to just move on."
Holtec would also face logistical hurdles. The company's estimate for reopening is based on essentially rebuilding the current plant, despite the fact that the reactors have been shut down and dismantled. "We would use existing equipment and add reconstituted parts," said O'Brien. "There's still good equipment there. For now we're continuing down a path of decommissioning."
As the design of Indian Point was found, near the end of its lifecycle, to be in violation of the Clean Water Act, any new nuclear at Indian Point wouldn't be able to draw water from the Hudson.
Holtec is in the final stages of attempting to restart the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan, which initially shut down in 2022, by the end of the year. If it succeeds, it will be the first time a shuttered nuclear power plant has been restarted in the ...