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Indian Point
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Dear Governor Paterson, Senator Schumer, and Senator Gillibrand: The time has come for all three of you to take a strong and public stance against relicensing the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant. Three Parks and a coalition of Manhattan and Westchester groups met with staff members of Senator Schumer and Senator Clinton in April 2007 and presented them with over 7,000 signatures on petitions opposed to renewing Indian Point’s licenses. Last year, Three Parks members and friends sent nearly 100 letters to Governor Paterson urging him to speak out in opposition to relicensing Indian Point and in support of the Office of Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and the Department of Environmental Conservation for challenging the plant’s relicensing application. Just last week, on August 28th, Indian Point experienced its fifth shutdown this year (and its fourth since May). As usual, Entergy, the plant’s owner and operator, declared there was no release of radioactivity. But the lack of a viable evacuation plan makes the plant a Katrina-scale civil defense disaster waiting to happen. Moreover, the federal government has only a small window of opportunity to close the plant in an orderly fashion at the end of its current license period in 2013 and 2015; if license extensions are granted, they will be in effect for 20 years, putting another generation at risk.1 As you know, there is no safe place to put the 1,500 tons of radioactive waste currently stored above and below ground at Indian Point—right in New York City’s backyard. An additional 1,000 tons of radioactive waste would be generated under the proposed license extensions that Entergy is seeking. Just last week, The Daily News reported that the plant “is sitting on enough contaminated soil, by federal estimates, to fill Yankee Stadium with radioactive sludge a foot deep.”2 A 2008 study indicating a greater likelihood of an earthquake near Indian Point further underscores the urgency of closing the plant.3 Finally, a July 2009 state court decision mandated that Entergy devise an alternative method to cool Indian Point’s steam turbines rather than sucking in and returning more than 2.5 billion gallons of Hudson River water daily—2 million gallons per minute—while pulling in and killing fish, eggs, larvae and plant life.4 A new cooling system would cost $1.4 billion; Entergy may be planning to appeal the decision, but the company should certainly be encouraged to avoid this expense altogether by withdrawing its license renewal application now. Studies have shown that there would be enough power available from existing and approved generating units in New York State and neighboring grids, through import over existing transmission lines, to meet the area’s electricity needs with the permanent retirement of Indian Point at the end of its current licenses.5 In addition, New York should be emphasizing a statewide energy replacement that would focus on improving conservation and energy efficiency, upgrading the transmission infrastructure for southeast New York, and increasing generation capacity to replace some of Indian Point’s 2,000 megawatts. As residents of New York City, the Three Parks membership is among the 20 million people living within the 50-mile "peak injury" zone of Indian Point who would be at serious risk in the event of a large radioactive release. We call on you to take action now before it’s too late. Please use the power of your offices to close Indian Point at the end of its current license period and to develop replacement power now; please let us know if you will come out forcefully against relicensing. Sincerely, 1 The August 2009 decision of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to complete its safety review of Indian Point is more evidence of the agency’s “rubber-stamping” of Entergy’s application; the NRC ignored both the safety issues raised by opponents of relicensing, among them New York State, and current events, including a recent nearby lightning strike that closed the plant. See article Here. 5 Alternatives to the Indian Point Energy Center for Meeting New York Electric Power Needs, National Academies Press, June 2006 Here ; Indian Point Retirement Options, Replacement Generation, Decommissioning/Spent Fuel Issues, and Local Economic/Rate Impacts, Levitan & Associates, Inc., June 2005 Here |
Take Action Sign Up Learn More NEWS The Dep't of Environmental Conservation and the Attorney General's office have joined the proceedings against relicensing--the first time a state has done so. ACTION E-Mail Sen. Schumer HereMessage as above. Hon. Charles E. Schumer 757 Third Avenue Suite 1702 New York, N.Y. 10017 212-486-4430 E-Mail Sen. Gillibrand Here Message as above. Hon. Kirsten Gillibrand 780 Third Avenue Suite 2601 New York, N.Y. 10017 212-688-6262 Read the Draft 2009 NY State Energy Plan. Energy sources are on page 3. Indian Point problems, and prospects for non-nuclear energy: see pages 54 - 57 here. Comment on the plan here.
Energy sources are on page 3. Indian Point problems, and prospects for non-nuclear energy: see pages 54 - 57 here.
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