Nuke plant needs broader review

Sunday, July 29, 2007 Nuke plant needs broader review
State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has joined the chorus of officials calling for a more expansive review of the Indian Point nuclear power plant reactors when they come up for relicensing in the years ahead.
Federal officials should comply with this demand. The attorney general formalized his view by filing a legal brief supporting efforts to have the Nuclear Regulatory Commission change the relicensing criteria. Supporters of this effort want the commission to take into account threats of terrorism and other critical factors, including evacuation plans and population density.
In the post-9/11 world, that makes abundant sense. In this day and age, a nuclear power plant would never be built so close to New York City, one of the most likely targets of terrorist attack.
Moreover, over the years, the aging Indian Point nuclear power plant has had a host of problems, ranging from leaks of radioactive water that have had to be contained to failing warning signals and a shoddy evacuation plan.
Cuomo is far from alone in expressing his concerns about the plant. Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano has repeatedly called for the plant to be shut down. Several municipalities have passed resolutions demanding this action as well. And the region's congressional delegation is pushing for a rigorous independent safety assessment of the plant before permits are renewed. They say any recommended repairs or actions by this independent assessment team must be taken care of before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission reviews the renewal application. Gov. Eliot Spitzer also agrees an outside safety review is justified.
The commission has resisted that attempt. On Wednesday, it accepted Indian Point's relicensing application to keep the nuclear plant operating until 2035, initiating what promises to be a long and combative review. The permits for the site's two active reactors are set to expire in 2013 and 2015, respectively.
Entergy Nuclear Northeast, the company that owns the power plant, wants the permits extended. At this point, the relicensing process would focus predominately on how Entergy would handle the aging of the plant structure. But Cuomo argues, correctly, that addressing the plant's measures to thwart terrorism and institute a realistic evacuation process should be considered in the relicensing.
While renewing the Indian Point permits must be decided on their own merits, the controversy also shows why both the state and federal governments are in dire need of comprehensive and realistic energy solutions. Indian Point supplies about 25 percent of the electricity delivered to the New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley. It is, of course, conceivable to shut down Indian Point and come up with alternative forms of energy to take its place. But it would take new power facilities, as well as a big investment in renewable energy, to do that.
Through this lengthy permit review and the search for viable alternatives, officials have plenty of work to do.
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Didn't Governor Pataki have Mr. Witt, a former FEMA administrator, prepare an independent safety review of the Indian Point Station. As I recall it wasn't a very glowing report. Were the recommendations of that report implemented? If the recommendations were implemented, then why spend more time and money on another safety review. If indeed the recommendations were not implemented, why waste more time and money on another safety review? If all the the king's horses and all the king's men didn't do it, is it not nonsense to try and do it all over again.Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 2:35 pm