Text of Holtec’s Letter to EPA (PDF)

Boston (December 20, 2022) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety, released the following statement today in response to Holtec’s renewed commitment to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it will not illegally discharge effluent water from the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station without proper authorization and that it would pursue a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit:

“I’m glad that Holtec has finally committed to following the law. Under pressure, the company has agreed to seek the proper permits in its process of decommissioning the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, and has agreed to not illegally discharge the plant’s radioactive wastewater without authorization. Earlier this year, Holtec representatives heard first-hand accounts from Cape residents and community stakeholders at the field hearing I convened in Plymouth. Holtec has a legal duty to comply with federal regulations and a moral duty to heed the concerns of these residents, who for too long have been kept in the dark about the decommissioning of this plant. I will continue to hold Holtec accountable throughout this decommissioning process and urge the company to make good on its promise to not allow any unsafe discharge into Cape Cod Bay.”

In November, Senator Markey led his colleagues Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Bill Keating (MA-09) in calling on Holtec to publicly commit to abide by the EPA’s regulations and not discharge effluent water into Cape Cody Bay without modifying its NPDES permit. In May, Senator Markey held a field hearing with Congressman Keating (MA-09), titled Issues Facing Communities with Decommissioning Nuclear Plants, where the lawmakers secured earlier commitments from Holtec that it would not discharge any effluent water into Cape Cod Bay from the plant without the consent of stakeholders. In January, Senators Markey and Warren and Congressmen Keating and Seth Moulton (MA-06) sent a letter to Holtec once again making clear their opposition to the discharge of effluent water into the bay.

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