Members of Massachusetts’ congressional delegation this week pushed Holtec International to respond to charges that a federal permit bars the company from discharging irradiated wastewater from a nuclear power plant under decommissioning in the commonwealth.
In a Wednesday press release, Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), alongside Rep. Bill Keating (D-Mass.), said they were “concerned” about Holtec’s silence regarding a June letter from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) alleging that the company does not have legal permission to release wastewater from Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station.
Holtec has said that it is considering discharging wastewater from the Plymouth, Mass., plant’s spent fuel pool into the nearby Cape Cod Bay. The company has also said that such action is allowed under the facility’s EPA-administered National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit — a claim that the agency itself contests.
EPA water division director Ken Moraff told the company in June that the agency “does not agree” with Holtec’s “novel interpretation” of the NPDES permit, which suggested the regulations only prohibit the release of untreated wastewater.
Moraff said that Holtec’s interpretation “directly conflicts with the ‘plain language’ of the permit,” which bars any spent fuel pool discharge.
“To provide clarity to our offices, local residents, and the many businesses and organizations that rely on Cape Cod Bay’s reputation for clean and safe water, we ask that Holtec confirm publicly as soon as possible that it will not discharge any Pilgrim wastewater without first obtaining the EPA’s authorization and the necessary permit modification,” the Massachusetts lawmakers said Wednesday.
A spokesperson for Holtec told RadWaste Monitor via email Thursday that the company met with the EPA and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Oct. 17.
“As we have always done, we will comply with our permits related to potential future discharge and should a discharge be deemed illegal we would look at alternative means of disposal,” the Holtec spokesperson said. “As stated previously, we are looking at all four options for disposal: liquid discharge, evaporation, trucking to a facility that would perform a liquid discharge or evaporation, and maintaining the water onsite in storage to allow for further radiological decay. The most likely solution would be a combination of all four options, not one over another.”
Holtec has said previously it would not discharge any wastewater from Pilgrim in 2022, and that any releases would likely begin early next year. The company has defended the practice, however, saying in January that such discharges were normal for nuclear plants.
Holtec acquired the Pilgrim plant from former operator Entergy Corp. in 2018. The company has said that it could finish decommissioning the site by 2027.
