Three members of New York state’s delegation to Congress have posed a long list of questions to Holtec International regarding its plans to acquire and decommission the Indian Point Energy Center.
The lawmakers submitted their questions to Holtec President and CEO Kris Singh in writing on Nov. 21, 2019. Their letter was posted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission website last week.
“It is critical that the decommissioning process for Indian Point is properly carried out in a safe and transparent manner and that there is robust, good-faith engagement with federal, state, and local officials and the public,” according to Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Nita Lowey (all D-N.Y.).
Generally, the three appeared interested in confirming Holtec has enough money to complete decommissioning of Indian Point’s three reactors and that cleanup will be conducted fully and efficiently.
There was no official word by deadline Wednesday for Weapons Complex Morning Briefing on whether Holtec has responded to the November letter.
Power company Entergy announced in 2017 it would close the final two operational reactors at the property in the village of Buchanan: Unit 2 by the end of April of this year and Unit 3 by April 30, 2021. Unit 1 has been shuttered since 1974.
Entergy hopes to sell all three reactors to Holtec by the third quarter of 2021, pending NRC approval of the transfer of Indian Point’s operations and spent-fuel storage licenses. Holtec, an energy technology company based in Camden, N.J., says it can complete decommissioning of the property within 15 years at a total cost of $2.3 billion. Indian Point is among several nuclear facilities that Holtec has bought or intends to acquire. In each case, the company would assume ownership of the reactors’ decommissioning trust fund and all responsiblity for cleanup and spent fuel management.
