TMI Update: Jan 14, 2024

Did you catch "The Meltdown: Three Mile Island" on Netflix?
TMI remains a danger and TMIA is working hard to ensure the safety of our communities and the surrounding areas.
Learn more on this site and support our efforts. Join TMIA. To contact the TMIA office, call 717-233-7897.

    

NRC Seeking Public Comment on Environmental Review of TerraPower Construction Permit Application

Nuclear Regulatory Commission - News Release
No: 24-045 June 12, 2024
CONTACT: Scott Burnell, 301-415-8200

NRC Seeking Public Comment on Environmental Review of TerraPower Construction Permit Application

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public input on the environmental review process for the construction permit application from TerraPower, which seeks permission to build the company’s Natrium nuclear power plant near Kemmerer, Wyoming.
 
NRC staff members will be in Kemmerer July 16 to describe the environmental review process and gather comments on the issues that should be addressed in the review. Details for the day’s agenda are being finalized and will be available by June 25 on the TerraPower application page and the NRC’s Public Meeting Schedule.
 
TerraPower, through its subsidiary US SFR Owner, filed the application in March, requesting a permit to build the sodium-cooled, advanced reactor design on a site near an existing coal-fired power plant. The 345-megawatt electric Natrium plant includes an energy storage system to temporarily boost output up to 500 MWe, when needed. If the NRC ultimately issues the permit, TerraPower would need to submit a separate operating license application.
 
The NRC offers several methods for filing comments on the environmental review before the Aug. 12 deadline, as outlined in a Federal Register notice. Comments can also be submitted via regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2024-0078, via email to TerraPowerEnvironmental@nrc.gov or via mail to Office of Administration, Mail Stop TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
 
A copy of the TerraPower construction permit application, including the environmental report, is available at the Lincoln County Library, 519 Emerald St. in Kemmerer.
 
By admin at Wed, 06/12/2024 - 20:56

PPL EU Pilot Stakeholder Notification

Good morning PPL stakeholders,
 
I am reaching out to notify you that we are planning a Phase IV Residential Electric Vehicle Charging pilot.
 
PPL anticipates EV adoption to increase significantly over the next several years and we need to understand the potential impact on our systems, as well as potential EE/DSM opportunities. PPL EU’s approved EE&C Plan has funds allocated for pilots, new technology, and experimental equipment; this provides an important opportunity to prepare for Phase V and beyond. The pilot summary can be found below and in the attached presentation:
 
  • Pilot Design: We plan to incentivize the adoption of connected level 2, ENERGY STAR certified smart chargers, with customer data authorization.
  • Outreach: We will use two primary pathways through dealership partners and direct to customer – downstream rebates and instant discounts on installed chargers.
  • Participation: 1,000 new and existing EV owners
  • Pilot Total Cost: $875K – this includes $300 customer incentive, marketing, platform, and administrative costs.
  • Schedule: This is an 18-month pilot that will last until the conclusion of Phase IV.
 
There will be benefits for all EDCs including verifying potential future savings in Act 129 for efficient charging equipment. The pilot will also allow us to understand how customers respond to more efficient charging technology, different marketing approaches, and installation options. It will also help us forecast the impact on our system through charging load shapes so we can lay the groundwork for future offerings.
 
We will provide updates on the pilot during our bi-annual stakeholder meetings. 
 
Thank you,

TM
 
Tom McAteer | Manager - Energy Efficiency 
PPL Electric Utilities
827 Hausman Rd.
Allentown, PA 18104
 
By admin at Wed, 06/12/2024 - 20:06

NRC Proposes $9,000 Civil Penalty to Prein & Newhof

Nuclear Regulatory Commission - News Release
No: III-24-013 June 10, 2024
Contact: Viktoria Mitlyng, 630-829-9662 Prema Chandrathil, 630-829-9663

NRC Proposes $9,000 Civil Penalty to Prein & Newhof

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed a $9,000 fine to Prein and Newhof for a violation of NRC requirements associated with the control of NRC-regulated material.
 
The violation involved four examples of failing to appropriately secure portable gauges from unauthorized removal when not under constant surveillance and control. The gauges are used for measuring the moisture content and density of soil and aggregate.
 
The NRC identified the proposed violations during inspections conducted between April and September 2023. The NRC conducted its inspections at the company’s facilities in Kalamazoo, Cadillac, Muskegon, and Grand Rapids, Michigan, as well as at temporary job sites in Kalamazoo and Muskegon.
 
During the inspection, another violation was identified. It involved the failure of the company to notify the NRC within 24 hours after a portable gauge was damaged and failed to function as designed. It is of very low risk significance and did not warrant a fine.
 
Prein & Newhof responded to the violations in writing and documented its corrective actions to prevent recurrence. Details about the company’s responses can be found in the notice of violation.
 
The company has 30 days to pay the proposed fine or contest it in writing.
 
By admin at Wed, 06/12/2024 - 19:58

NRC Announces Opportunity to Request a Hearing for the TerraPower Construction Permit Application

Nuclear Regulatory Commission - News Release
No: 24-044 June 4, 2024
CONTACT: Scott Burnell, 301-415-8200
 
NRC Announces Opportunity to Request a Hearing for the TerraPower Construction Permit Application
 
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is announcing an opportunity for the public to request a hearing on a construction permit application from TerraPower seeking permission to build the company’s Natrium nuclear power plant near Kemmerer, Wyoming.
 
TerraPower, through its subsidiary US SFR Owner, filed the application in March, requesting a permit to build the sodium-cooled, advanced reactor design on a site near an existing coal-fired power plant. The 345-megawatt electric Natrium plant includes an energy storage system to temporarily boost output up to 500 MWe, when needed. If the NRC ultimately issues the permit, TerraPower would need to submit a separate operating license application to obtain permission to run the reactor.
 
The NRC staff has determined the application contains sufficient information for the agency to formally docket the application and begin its safety and environmental reviews. Docketing the application is not an indication of whether the NRC will issue the construction permit. The notice in today’s Federal Register includes instructions for filing hearing requests. The filing deadline is Aug. 5.
 
Information about the regulation of new reactors is available on the NRC website. A copy of the TerraPower construction permit application will be available on the NRC website and at the Lincoln County Library – Kemmerer at 519 Emerald St., in Kemmerer.
 
By admin at Wed, 06/05/2024 - 03:29

Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Unit 1 - Email of final script to Licensee May 30, 2024 for Verbal Authorization 1RR06, Official Script Susquehanna Steam Electric Station Unit 1 Verbal Authorization 1RR06

Subject: Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Unit 1 - Email of final script to Licensee May 30, 2024 for Verbal Authorization 1RR06, Official Script Susquehanna Steam Electric Station Unit 1 Verbal Authorization 1RR06
 
ADAMS Accession No.: ML24155A104
Using Web-based ADAMS, select “Advanced Search”
Under “Property,” select “Accession Number”
Under “Value,” enter the Accession Number
Click Search 
By admin at Tue, 06/04/2024 - 15:10

bU.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission apologizes for “miscommunication” — Now says radioactive tritium from Monticello reactor leaked to the Mississippi River

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                        30 May 2024

Contact: John LaForge, 715-491-3813, <nukewatch1@lakeland.ws>; Kelly Lundeen, 715-933-1941, kellylundeen14@gmail.com>
 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission apologizes for “miscommunication” —
Now says radioactive tritium from Monticello reactor leaked to the Mississippi River

A representative of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has apologized for public reassurances from its staff that a major leak of radioactive tritium from Xcel Energy’s Monticello nuclear reactor had not reached the Mississippi River, drinking water source for 20 million people including the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area.

In opening remarks to the NRC-sponsored public hearing at the Monticello Community Center Wednesday, May 15, 2024, NRC Senior Environmental Project Manager Stephen S. Koenick[1], reversed the NRC staff’s often-repeated assurances that leaked tritium from the 53-year-old Monticello reactor had not been detected in the Mississippi River.

Koenick said, “I would like to take a moment to address and clarify some miscommunication regarding the presence of detectable tritium in the Mississippi River. I know we … reported there were no indication[s] of [a] tritium leak [which] made it to the Mississippi. However, … in our Draft Environmental Impact Statement, we … conclude there were some very low concentrations of tritium in the Mississippi River.”[2] Koenick went on to say, “So we apologize for this miscommunication.”

The tritium contamination of the Mississippi is confirmed in Xcel Energy’s May 14, 2024 “Annual Radioactive Effluent Release Report,” submitted to the NRC, which says on page 2, "Tritium was detected in newly developed MW-33A [monitoring well-33A] and MW-37A which resulted in MNGP [Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant] reporting an abnormal discharge to the Mississippi River."[3]

The NRC’s apology regarded several miscommunications made to the press assuring that no detectable tritium had been found by Xcel’s testing of the Mississippi River. On March 18, 2023, NRC spokesperson Victoria Mitlyng told the press that, “There is no pathway for the tritium to get into drinking water.”[4] The NRC’s May 15 public reversal also contradicts Mitlyng’s email message, sent to Nukewatch the evening of the May 15, 2024 public hearing, in which Mitlyng wrote: “As far as the Mississippi River, samples taken from the river so far have not shown increased tritium concentrations.”[5] As recently as May 7, 2024, NRC presenters at an NRC-sponsored public hearing, also held in Monticello’s Community Center, stated on the record that Xcel had found "no detectable levels" of radioactive tritium in the Mississippi River.

Xcel Energy stated in a November 18, 2023 company website posting, “We test the river regularly for tritium and have not found any, indicating that if it is present, it is at such low levels, and is dispersing so quickly, that it cannot be detected by highly sensitive instruments.”[6]

However, the company had previously concluded otherwise. The firm’s July 27, 2023 annual radioactive effluent release report states, “As a result of the continued migration of the Tritium Plume following the abnormal release to the site environs in 2022, MNGP concluded that Tritium had the potential to reach the river. This determination was made after H-3 [tritium] was detected in Monitoring Wells 33A & 37A on July 27, 2023.”[7] Wells 33A and 37A are the two closest to the river. 

Xcel has applied for a second operating license extension which, if granted, would allow the Monticello reactor to run until the age of 80. Public comments on the NRC’s environmental impact statement for the application are being accepted until June 10. To submit comments, see: <nukewatchinfo.org> . ###

_____________ 

Notes for verification only

[1]            Stephen S. Koenick, Chief of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Environmental Project Management Branch 1, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support, Office of                          Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. <stephen.koenick@nrc.gov>

[2]            From transcript of tape recording, Nuclear Regulatory Commission public meeting, Monticello Community Center, Monticello, MN, Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

[3]            Xcel, Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Annual Radioactive Effluent Release Report, May 14, 2024, Page 2.

                Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant - 2023 Annual Radioactive Effluent Release Report (nrc.gov)

[4]            Associated Press, “Regulators: Nuclear plant leak didn't require public notice”, by Michael Phillis and Amancia Biraben, March 18, 2023,

                 https://apnews.com/article/xcel-energy-nuclear-leak-tritium-6e522afbb12ad26925c40d833853088d

[5]           Victoria Mitlyng, <Viktoria.Mitlyng@nrc.go>, email to Nukewatch, Wednesday, May 15, 2024

[6]           Xcel website - Monticello Groundwater: Progress on the recovery and treatment of tritium in the groundwater at the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, as of Nov. 18, 2023,                                         https://mn.my.xcelenergy.com/s/outage-safety/public-safety/monticello-groundwater

[7]            “2023 Annual Radioactive Effluent Release Report” for Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, for the period covering January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023, p. 9. <https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2413/ML24135A191.pdf>

By admin at Sun, 06/02/2024 - 13:20

[decomm_wkg] Indian Point - Notice of Violation - Inspection Reports

Indian Point - Notice of Violation - Inspection Reports
 
 
Document Title: Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC, Indian Point Energy Center, Units 1, 2 AND 3 - NRC Inspection Report Nos. 05000003/2024005, 05000247/2024005, 05000286/2024005, 07200051/2024001, and Notice of Violation Document Type: Inspection Report Letter Notice of Violation Document Date: 05/21/2024
By admin at Sun, 06/02/2024 - 13:18

[decomm_wkg] (corrected!) PR | Groups Release Vogtle Truth Report on eve of Feds' visit to new Vogtle reactors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Alex Frank, afrank@hastingsgroupmedia.com | 703-276-3264

PLANT VOGTLE:
 The True Cost of Nuclear Power in the U.S.
Georgia groups release damning report on the most expensive, unneeded electricity on Earth

ATLANTA 5/30/24: Will Georgia’s new reactors at Plant Vogtle be the last nuclear reactors ever completed in the United States? It’s a plausible outcome according to a new report, Plant Vogtle: The True Cost of Nuclear Power in the United States, released today by six Georgia consumer and environmental groups. 

The new analysis details how the U.S. Department of Energy, Georgia Power, and the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC), conspired to force Georgians into purchasing the most expensive electricity in the world, costing ratepayers $10,784 per kilowatt, compared to $900 - $1,500 per kilowatt for wind, solar, or natural gas. A separate analysis shows that ratepayers should expect a monthly electricity bill increase of $35 on average, more than double the Georgia Power disclosed estimate of $15 per month. 

The report was commissioned by six Georgia groups and co-authored by Patty Durand, former president of the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative and a recent candidate for the Georgia PSC; Kim Scott, executive director of Georgia WAND; and Glenn Carroll, coordinator of Nuclear Watch South. The groups seek to warn officials in other states not to believe claims that nuclear energy is cost-competitive, required for clean energy, or necessary to meet large growth projections, claims that were made repeatedly to Georgians leading up to and throughout the project and are expected to continue tomorrow at the U.S. Department of Energy’s unveiling ceremony in Waynesboro, GA. 

Key findings in the report include:

• Plant Vogtle is expanding Georgia Power's rate base, the assets on which they earn a guaranteed rate of return, by over $11 billion. Yet their share of Vogtle is only 1,020 megawatts, making it the most expensive electricity in the world at $10,784/KW. Normal (wind, solar, natural gas) generation prices range from $1,000 to $1500/KW. 

• Vogtle Units 3 & 4 took 15 years to build and cost $36.8 billion, more than twice the projected timeline and cost. 

• Vogtle independent construction monitors documented that Georgia Power provided materially inaccurate cost estimates for at least ten years, amounting to falsehoods used to justify expanding Plant Vogtle. Similar false cost estimates sent South Carolina utility executives to jail for that state’s failed nuclear plant, which started construction at the same time as Plant Vogtle.

• Georgia Power pocketed $17 billion in profits while racking up $18 billion in cost overruns during Vogtle construction. Georgia Power profited from the delays and cost overruns and the Public Service Commission enabled it.

Patty Durand, report co-author, former president of the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative and a recent candidate for the Georgia PSC, says: “If other states are paying any attention, the two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle should be the last reactors ever built in the United States. They never should have been completed in the first place. Again and again, the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) was warned about the astronomical cost of these reactors and the financial toll it will bear on Georgians for decades to come. Commissioners repeatedly declined to protect ratepayers from cost overruns and ignored PSC staff recommendation to cancel the project. People went to prison for actions like this in South Carolina, yet we have had no accountability for the same, and worse, behavior here. 

Brionté McCorkle, executive director of Georgia Conservation Voters which co-released the report, says: “Vogtle is a cautionary tale for the rest of the country. Here in Georgia, we’re stuck with the most expensive power ever produced, nothing to take pride in. Georgians deserve safe, clean and affordable energy, Vogtle is the opposite. Imagine all of the renewable power, battery storage and energy-efficiency investments we could have made in the time it took to build the two new reactors at Plant Vogtle at a fraction of the cost. Imagine what we could have done with the $36.8 billion dollars instead of dumping them in this radioactive money-pit. What a waste of time and valuable resources. Shame on Georgia Power. Shame on everyone who lined their pockets at the expense of Georgia’s future.” 

Kimberly Scott, report co-author and executive director of Georgia WAND, says: “Now that Vogtle’s new reactors are complete, Georgia Power ratepayers are stuck with the highest power bills in the US. So it is clear that Georgia Power is looking out for its own economic interests and is not concerned about moving Georgia to a clean-energy economy, let alone protecting the health of Georgians who live in and around nuclear power Plant Vogtle.”

Glenn Carroll, report co-author and coordinator of Nuclear Watch South, says: "Georgia Power has successfully used Plant Vogtle to transfer $36.8 billion from the pockets of hard-working Georgians to its own bank account and shareholders. Enabled by the Georgia Public Service Commission, U.S. Department of Energy and Georgia General Assembly, Georgia Power is placing Georgia, South Carolina and the Savannah River at serious risk from two unneeded nuclear reactors which are steaming up the overheated climate and piling up radioactive waste with no place to go. As the White House wrongfully pursues nuclear energy, we urge citizens and leaders of other states to be on guard to prevent their utilities from following Georgia Power's playbook."

Report sponsors:

Center for a Sustainable Coast

The Center for a Sustainable Coast uses science, media, and the law to defend, restore, and improve coastal Georgia’s environment and quality of life.

Concerned Ratepayers of Georgia
A consultancy working to ensure cost-effective electric rates for Georgia Power customers by conducting rigorous economic analyses of the utility’s capital expenditures.

Cool Planet Solutions

A consultancy that focuses on helping energy stakeholders such as utilities, commissions, and businesses understand residential consumer motivations, values and knowledge around energy.

GCV Education Fund

Georgia Conservation Voters Education Fund mobilizes Georgians to advance climate and environmental justice for a more just and sustainable future.

Georgia WAND

Georgia WAND (Women’s Actions for New Directions) Education Fund Inc. is a non-profit advocacy group focused on quality-of-life issues, health hazards resulting from nuclear energy and weapons, and social justice grounded in building racial equity.

Nuclear Watch South

Grassroots direct-action environmental group founded in 1977 to phase out nuclear power, promote conservation and renewable energies, abolish nuclear weapons, and promote ethical environmental radioactive waste management.
By admin at Fri, 05/31/2024 - 15:52

Plant Vogtle: The True Cost of Nuclear Power in the United States

For Immediate Release: May 30, 2024
Media Contact: Alex Frank, afrank@hastingsgroupmedia.com | 
703-276-3264
Georgia WAND Contact:
Kimberly Scott
Georgia WAND, Executive Director
Phone: (404) 524-5999

REPORT: NEW NUCLEAR REACTORS TO COST GEORGIA RATEPAYERS EXTRA $420 ANNUALLY, ON AVERAGE 

Most Expensive Electricity on Earth: $35/month Bill Increases Coming After Vogtle Units 3 & 4 Begin Commercial Operation, 7 Years Late and $21 Billion Over Budget

ATLANTA – MAY 30, 2024 – Will Georgia’s new reactors at Plant Vogtle be the last nuclear reactors ever completed in the United States? It’s a plausible outcome according to a new report, Plant Vogtle: The True Cost of Nuclear Power in the United States, released today by six prominent Georgia consumer groups. 

The new analysis details how the U.S. Department of Energy, Georgia Power, and the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC), conspired to force Georgians into purchasing the most expensive electricity in the world, costing ratepayers $10,784 per kilowatt hour, compared to $900 - $1,500 per kilowatt hour for wind, solar, or natural gas. A separate analysis shows that ratepayers should expect a monthly electricity bill increase of $35 on average, more than double the Georgia Power disclosed estimate of $15 per month. 

The report was commissioned by six Georgia groups and co-authored by Patty Durand, former president of the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative and a recent candidate for the Georgia PSC; Kim Scott, executive director of Georgia WAND; and Glenn Carroll, coordinator of Nuclear Watch South. The groups seek to warn officials in other states not to believe claims that nuclear energy is cost-competitive, required for clean energy, or necessary to meet large growth projections, claims that were made repeatedly to Georgians leading up to and throughout the project and will continue this Friday at the U.S. Department of Energy’s unveiling ceremony in Waynesboro, GA. 

Key findings in the report include:

  • Plant Vogtle will allow Georgia Power to expand its rate base, the assets on which they earn a guaranteed rate of return, by over $11 billion. Yet their share of Vogtle is 1,020 megawatts, making it the most expensive electricity in the world at $10,784/KW. Normal (wind, solar, natural gas) generation prices range from $1,000 to $1500/KW. 
  • Vogtle Units 3 & 4 took 15 years to build and cost $36.8 billion, more than twice the projected timeline and cost. 
  • Vogtle independent construction monitors documented that Georgia Power provided materially false cost estimates for at least ten years, falsehoods used to justify expanding Plant Vogtle. Similar false cost estimates sent South Carolina utility executives to jail for that state’s failed nuclear plant, which started construction at the same time as Plant Vogtle.

Patty Durand, report co-author, former president of the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative and a recent candidate for the Georgia PSC, said: “If other states are paying any attention, the two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle should be the last reactors ever built in the United States. They never should have been completed in the first place. Again and again, the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) was warned about the astronomical cost of these reactors and the financial toll it will bear on Georgians for decades to come. Commissioners repeatedly declined to protect ratepayers from cost overruns and ignored PSC staff recommendation to cancel the project. People went to prison for actions like this in South Carolina, yet we have had no accountability for the same, and worse, behavior here. 

Brionté McCorkle, report co-author and executive director of Georgia Conservation Voters, said: “Vogtle is a cautionary tale for the rest of the country. Here in Georgia, we’re stuck with the most expensive power ever produced, nothing to take pride in. Georgians deserve safe, clean and affordable energy, Vogtle is the opposite. Imagine all of the renewable power, battery storage and energy-efficiency investments we could have made in the time it took to build the two new reactors at Plant Vogtle at a fraction of the cost. Imagine what we could have done with the $35 billion dollars instead of dumping them in this radioactive money-pit. What a waste of time and valuable resources. Shame on Georgia Power. Shame on everyone who lined their pockets at the expense of Georgia’s future.” 

Kimberly Scott, report co-author and executive director of Georgia WAND, said: “Now that Vogtle’s new reactors are complete, Georgia Power ratepayers are stuck with the highest power bills in the U.S. So it is clear that Georgia Power is looking out for its own economic interests and are not concerned about moving Georgia to a clean-energy economy, let alone protecting the health of Georgians who live in and around nuclear power Plant Vogtle.”

###

Center for a Sustainable Truth about Plant Vogtle Report
The Center for a Sustainable Coast uses science, media, and the law to defend, restore, and improve coastal Georgia’s environment and quality of life.
 
Concerned Ratepayers of Georgia
A consultancy working to ensure cost-effective electric rates for Georgia Power customers by conducting rigorous economic analyses of the utility’s capital expenditures.
 
Cool Planet Solutions
A consultancy that focuses on helping energy stakeholders such as utilities, commissions, and businesses understand residential consumer motivations, values and knowledge around energy.
 
GCV Education Fund
Georgia Conservation Voters Education Fund mobilizes Georgians to advance climate and environmental justice for a more just and sustainable future.
 
Georgia Wand
Georgia WAND (Women’s Actions for New Directions) Education Fund Inc. is a non-profit advocacy group focused on quality-of-life issues, health hazards resulting from nuclear energy and weapons, and social justice grounded in building racial equity.
 
Nuclear Watch South
Grassroots direct-action environmental group founded in 1977 to phase out nuclear power, promote conservation and renewable energies, abolish nuclear weapons, and promote ethical environmental radioactive waste management.
 
About Georgia WAND
 
Georgia WAND Education Fund, Inc. (“Georgia WAND”) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Our focus on quality of life issues, health hazards resulting from nuclear energy and weapons, and social justice are grounded in building racial equity. We understand the intersectionality between racism, poverty, and unjust environmental policies that burden underserved and underresourced communities in Georgia. We work to defend people, underserved communities and our climate future together. Gifts to Georgia WAND Education Fund, Inc. are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
By admin at Thu, 05/30/2024 - 15:45

Feds: Indian Point owner Holtec had laid-off workers agree not to testify against company

LOHUD ARTICLE CLICK HERE 

Feds: Indian Point owner Holtec had laid-off workers agree not to testify against company

Thomas C. Zambito  New York State Team
published 3 a.m. ET May 29, 2024

Indian Point’s owners had workers sign agreements saying they would not say discuss safety concerns with outsiders after they stopped working at the shuttered nuclear power plant, an investigation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has found.

The NRC last week cited Holtec International, the plant’s New Jersey-based owners, for including language in the severance agreements of employees who left the company in 2022 and 2023 that would restrict or discourage them from testifying as a witness in a proceeding that could damage Holtec.

Additionally, the NRC said, Holtec required the employees to tell Holtec if they received “subpoenas, correspondence, telephone calls, requests for information, inquiries or other contacts” from government agencies or other third parties.

“This language restricts the employee from voluntarily testifying on behalf of the NRC in a matter adverse to Holtec (for example, in a matter involving a potential violation) and restricts the ability of the employee to engage in back-and-forth communications with the NRC without informing Holtec,” the NRC writes.

At least seven union employees affiliated with the Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) signed the agreements between July 2022 and December 2023.

NRC relies on plant workers to speak freely

The NRC conducts regular reviews of activities at the plant, which shut down in 2021 after nearly six decades producing power for Westchester County and New York City.

“It is essential that current and former plant workers feel free to raise safety concerns with the NRC,” spokesman Neil Sheehan said. “They are (or were) at the plant on a daily basis and can have knowledge of issues that are not available to us.”

Barges:By barge, rail or truck? Feds propose travel routes for Indian Point's nuclear fuel

Sheehan would not say how the NRC learned of the agreements. A spokesperson for the UWUA said no one was available to comment.

The NRC investigation did not turn up evidence the agreements prevented employees from acting as so-called whistleblowers or accusing the company of jeopardizing the safety of workers or the public.

But the commission said there was a possibility the use of such agreements could be more widespread, noting that “the language appears to be in ingrained in corporate documents” used at other Holtec facilities regulated by the NRC.

A loaded HI-STORM canister being readied for its journey to the ISFSI Pad (Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation) at the Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan.

Holtec owns shuttered nuclear power plants in Massachusetts, Michigan and New Jersey.

Holtec spokesman Patrick O’Brien said the company has corrected language in future separation agreements, which “ensures that all employees understand their rights and responsibilities when it comes to reporting issues adverse to safety.”

“We take this, and all violations seriously,” O’Brien said. “Our number one focus is on safety, especially nuclear safety, and encourage all of our employees and contractors to report issues through the proper channels, up to and including the NRC, as soon as they are identified.”

Funds:Indian Point owner Holtec used $63K in ratepayer funds for sports teams, fashion show

Holtec reverses course...again

This is the second time in recent months Holtec has reversed course after the NRC caught the company violating federal regulations.

In February, the NRC cited Holtec for spending $63,000 of ratepayer funds meant for the demolition of Indian Point to sponsor a high school fashion show, sports teams and a golf outing. Holtec had to reimburse the money, which it took out of some $2 billion in decommissioning trust funds it inherited after buying the plant from Louisiana-based Entergy.

Holtec sued the state of New York last month over a law signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul that bans the discharge of treated radiological water into the Hudson River.

Lawsuit:Indian Point owner sues NY to overturn law banning radiological water in Hudson River

The company had plans to discharge a million gallons of treated radioactive water from reactor cooling pools into the river, prompting an outcry from environmental groups and state lawmakers.

In the spring of 2023, Holtec vice president Richard Burroni said the teardown would be stalled and the company would be forced to lay off workers if the state interfered with its discharge plans.

The move prompted Thomas Carey, the president of the AFL-CIO affiliate at the plant, to accuse Holtec of stoking worker fears.

By admin at Wed, 05/29/2024 - 15:00

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