Dozens sound off on discharge of radioactive water from closed Plymouth power plant

PLYMOUTH, Mass. — A month after the state shut down a request to dump radioactive wastewater from Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station into Cape Cod Bay, dozens spoke at a public comment hearing Thursday at Plymouth Town Hall.

Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) denied Holtec International’s request for a permit modification in a tentative determination last month, calling the company’s plan a violation of the Massachusetts Ocean Sanctuaries Act. Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection held the hearing before the agency makes its final decision.

The vast majority of speakers voiced their support for the state’s draft decision and denounced Holtec’s decommissioning plans for the now-closed nuclear power plant. Supporters of the Save Our Bay movement held signs reading “Not one drop,” rallying before the hearing.

“Property values, health and safety issues, environmental issues, just the oyster industry alone would take a gigantic hit,” said Leslie Danielson, a Plymouth resident and member of Save Our Bay. “Even though Holtec says they intend on filtering and processing the water, a lot of that material cannot be processed out.”

Peter Dalton, who is on the Duxbury Shellfish Advisory Board, fears the potential effects on local industry.

“We have over 30 oyster farms [in Duxbury], and just the perception alone of the dumping of nuclear waste into the bay would ruin all the businesses, all the family business and hundreds of employees would be out of jobs, and also local restaurants wouldn’t be able to sell them,” Dalton said.

“It’s absurd and stupid from the very get-go,” said Douglas Long at the hearing. “How about ingesting poison intentionally and poisoning the entire ecosystem intentionally, because they can’t figure out another way to do it?”

Holtec said in a statement last month:

“We are disappointed by the state’s denial of our permit modification for discharge of treated water from Pilgrim Station well within safe limits. We will continue with the EPA modification process and will look to evaluate all options related to ultimate disposition of the water used in plant operations for the last 50 years. This process has already delayed the completion of the project for an additional four years, impacted the workforce on site and further changes when the site can be returned to be an economic driver for the Plymouth Community.”

Among its options are evaporation of the contaminated water or trucking it to another state.

A few speakers showed their support for the company’s decommissioning plan, including Shawn Noyes and Susan Tordella of Eco-Nuclear Solutions, a group that advocates for the use of nuclear power as the “key to solving and addressing climate change,” Noyes explained.

“Pilgrim has been discharging water into the bay for over 45 years, and it’s just kind of interesting right now that everyone’s against it during the decommissioning,” said Noyes, who lives in East Dennis.

“In the past 45 years, show me where it’s hurt somebody, where it’s hurt a child or hurt their business or hurt their fish,” added Tordella. “Show me the data, because the data does not support this overreaction to the discharge of this water.”

Mass DEP will accept written comments through August 31 before making its final decision.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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