We are pleased to announce that a major step toward the timely decommissioning of the three-reactor Indian Point site occurred yesterday with the unanimous signing of a Joint Petition (“Agreement”) by all stakeholders that will support the NY Public Service Commission’s deliberations and decision in May. The Joint Petition recognizes the great benefits that would accrue to the citizens of New York by the proposed decommissioning of the site by Holtec International using its state-of-the-art safe, clean, and proven methods.
The agreement provides for many assurances that give contractual certainties for decommissioning and address the concerns of local communities, the State and other stakeholders. The Agreement was signed by Subsidiaries of Entergy Corporation and Holtec International, the New York State Department of Public Service Staff, the New York State Office of the Attorney General, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, Westchester County; Hendrick Hudson School District, Town of Cortlandt, Village of Buchanan, Riverkeeper, Inc., and the Public Utility Law Project of New York, Inc. We thank Governor Andrew Cuomo for his strong endorsement of the Agreement in a press release earlier today from the State.
This accord was reached after extensive and intense negotiations among the stakeholders to ensure that every party’s interest was accommodated fairly with the shared goal of getting the site decommissioned in a safe and timely manner. Holtec’s innovative methods to improve safety and efficiency in decommissioning currently in use at its two other plants, will provide Indian Point the best outcome for the site and greatly benefit New Yorkers by getting the site cleaned up decades sooner than the previously planned extended layup approach followed by several other plants. “We greatly appreciate the professionalism of those with whom we worked at the State and Local Governments, the NGOs and other organizations to craft this comprehensive agreement in support of this transaction. We also thank Entergy’s leadership and their representatives for their vigorous and constructive contribution throughout the negotiations,” said Pam Cowan, Senior VP and COO of Holtec Decommissioning International.
The strong support from the State of New York and other stakeholders speaks to Holtec’s model of financial strength and technical prowess in decommissioning as the globally pre-eminent innovator and environmental safety leader. Our latest Holtec Highlights issue entitled Holtec’s Disruptive Innovations Poised to Underpin Enhanced Human Health & Safety and Environmental Protection in the Nuclear Decommissioning Industry, summarizes some of the inventions that the Company will deploy to minimize the accreted dose to the environment, to prevent spread of contamination and to protect our plant personnel’s health and safety. We hope to do in New York what we are accomplishing in the ongoing decommissioning projects in New Jersey (Oyster Creek) and Massachusetts (Pilgrim) which are continually breaking industry performance records. One of the technology breakthroughs is the orders of magnitude reduction in the number of containers that will ply the local roadways which will minimize local traffic and environmental dose.
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