Connecticut Attorney General To Seek Strict Conditions For Relicensing Of Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant
By newsdesk - Posted on December 4th, 2007
December 3, 2007 -- Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today moved to intervene at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to demand that the commission deny the Indian Point nuclear power plant's application for a 20-year license extension unless the owners address serious safety and environmental concerns.
Blumenthal said that Indian Point's license, which expires in 2013 for one reactor and 2015 for the other, should not be extended unless the plant:
* Meets current NRC and federal safety, operating and environmental standards.
* Demonstrates that it can safeguard increased amounts of onsite nuclear waste from a major accident or terrorist attack.
* Draws up a realistic, workable evacuation plan for the increasingly populated areas surrounding the plant, including all of Fairfield and large parts of Litchfield and New Haven counties.
"The risks of a 20-year license extension are very serious," Blumenthal said. "The NRC must thoroughly and accurately evaluate the impacts resulting from a fire, accident or attack on the stored spent nuclear fuel at the site, as those risks will be profoundly increased by continued operation over an additional 20 years. In addition, since Indian Point was originally licensed, there has been a major increase in population in the potential emergency evacuation zone. As a result, NRC must analyze the impact of an accident or attack in the context of a realistic evacuation plan covering areas of Connecticut and New York.
"Unless the evaluation proves convincingly that all of these risks can and will be overcome, NRC must deny the relicensing."
Blumenthal's petition asks the NRC to admit Connecticut as a full party to the relicensing proceedings, enabling his office to submit briefs and make oral arguments. Blumenthal acted in support of the New York Attorney General's Office, which today also sought to intervene in the case.
Source: Connecticut Attorney General
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