In letter, Senators demand improvements to NRC proposed rule on process of decommissioning nuclear power facilities

Washington (September 1, 2022) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chair of the Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety in the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) urging the Commission to prioritize public safety and increase community engagement in the process for decommissioning nuclear power facilities, like those in Plymouth, Massachusetts and across the country.  

In response to its public comment period for the proposed decommissioning rule, “Regulatory Improvements for Production and Utilization Facilities Transitioning to Decommissioning,” the senators sent a letter this week urging the NRC to make meaningful changes to the proposed rule to ensure that the final rule requires formal NRC approval of a licensee’s post-shutdown decommissioning activities report (PSDAR)—an action that would require an up-to-date environmental review and meaningful public hearing rights—and the maintenance of emergency planning requirements until all spent fuel is moved out of spent fuel pools and into safer dry cask storage. Currently, the proposed rule issued by the NRC would not require that the Commission approve these complex decommissioning plans, and would not provide affected state and local stakeholders with any rights to participate in an adjudicatory process nor receive any response to their comments or concerns. The NRC’s current rule would also unacceptably risk shifting costs onto local communities that seek to follow the best-practice guidelines laid out by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for radioactive hazard response planning.

“This rulemaking presents a critical opportunity to restore the public’s trust in the Commission’s ability to prioritize community safety over efficiency,” wrote the senators. “By requiring formal NRC approval of PSDARs and maintaining emergency planning requirements until all spent fuel is moved into spent fuel pools, the Commission can take a meaningful step in that direction, promote transparency, and protect public safety.”

A copy of the letter can be found HERE.

Senators Markey and Warren have consistently urged the NRC to prioritize safety and public participation in the nuclear decommissioning process. This past May, Senator Markey hosted an EPW subcommittee field hearing in Plymouth, Massachusetts with Congressman William R. Keating (MA-09), titled Issues Facing Communities with Decommissioning Nuclear Plants. During the hearing, Senator Markey highlighted deficiencies with the current decommissioning rule and secured environmental and financial protections for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station from Holtec International, the company charged with the decommissioning of the plant.

Additionally, this past January, Senators Markey and Warren, alongside Representatives William Keating (MA-09) and Seth Moulton (MA-06), wrote to Holtec to express their opposition to the proposed discharge of radioactive water from Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station into Cape Cod Bay.

Senator Markey has repeatedly urged the NRC to improve previous iterations of the decommissioning rule. In June 2021, he sent a letter to the Commission urging the agency to address safety and security concerns before approving the draft rule.

As the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station commenced its decommissioning process, the senators continued to fight to ensure that the NRC prioritized safety and public participation. In August 2019, Senators Markey and Warren and Representative William Keating (MA-09) wrote to the NRC to urge it to delay ruling on the proposed license transfer for Pilgrim from Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. to Holtec until after the Commission considered and ruled on extant petitions and motions. In October 2018, Senator Markey and Representative Keating demanded clear details from Holtec and Entergy about the safety and security issues involved in the ownership, transfer, and eventual decommissioning of the power plant.

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