The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday formally began accepting petitions for hearings and intervention on the application to transfer the operating and spent fuel storage licenses for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts.
Power company Entergy plans to close the single-reactor plant by May 31 after nearly 47 years of operation. It hopes by the end of the year to sell the site to energy technology company Holtec International, which would then own Pilgrim’s decommissioning trust fund and all responsibility for decommissioning, site restoration, and spent fuel management. Holtec says it can effectively complete decommissioning in less than a decade at a cost of just over $1 billion.
The companies in November submitted their license transfer application to the NRC, which expects its technical review to last nine to 12 months.
Potential stakeholders “whose interest may be affected by this action” have until Feb. 20 to file a request for a hearing and petition for intervention, which if approved would make them parties to the license proceeding, according to a Federal Register notice published Thursday. The petitioner must include the following information: their name, address, and telephone number; the nature under federal law of their right to become a party; the nature and extent of any property, financial, or additional interest in the proceeding; and how their interest might be impacted by the result of the proceeding.
Petitioners must also cite specific legal or factual contentions they believe need to be considered in the proceeding.
“Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, subject to any limitations of the order granting leave to intervene,” the Federal Register notice says. “Parties have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the hearing with respect to resolution of the party’s admitted contentions, including the opportunity to present evidence, consistent with the NRC’s regulations, policies, and procedures.”
The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office has already said it plans to intervene in the licensing proceeding.
