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WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. – A court battle between New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission over long-term storage of nuclear waste could hold up the license renewal process at the Indian Point Nuclear power plants in Buchanan.
According to a statement Friday afternoon from the attorney general's office, "The NRC cannot license or re-license any nuclear power plant, including the Indian Point facility in Westchester County, until it examines the dangers and consequences of long-term on-site storage of nuclear waste."
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sided with Schneiderman in a lawsuit challenging the NRC's review of the safety of long-term, on-site storage of high-level nuclear waste, such as that produced at Indian Point.
As of January 2011, about 63,000 metric tons of commercial nuclear waste was estimated to be stored on site at nuclear power plants across the U.S. The amount of spent fuel in storage at individual commercial nuclear power plants is expected to increase at a rate of about 2,000 metric tons per year, according to Neil Sheehan, a spokesperson for the NRC.
The court found that the NRC's current regulation violated the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires agency actions take into account environmental, public health and safety risks.
According to the attorney general's statement, the court found that the NRC violated the law when it found “reasonable assurance” that sufficient, licensed, off-site storage capacity will be available to dispose of nuclear power plant waste “when necessary.”
The appeals court wrote that the NRC “apparently has no long-term plan other than hoping for a geologic repository," according to the attorney general's office.
"Whether you're for or against re-licensing Indian Point and our nation’s aging nuclear power plants, the security of our residents who live in the areas that surround these facilities is paramount," Schneiderman said in the statement. "I am committed to continuing to use the full force of my office to push the NRC to fully evaluate – and ensure – the safety of Indian Point and our other nuclear plants."
Since 2010, when the Yucca Mountain, Nevada, waste storage project was abandoned by the federal government, no new long-term geologic storage sites for nuclear waste have been identified.
Spent fuel is stored on site at the nation's 106 active nuclear reactors, both in cooling pools and in dry cask storage. The NRC had found that such long-term storage was safe and had no adverse environmental impacts.
In Friday's ruling the court overturned that finding and sent the matter back to the NRC for review. A timeline for compliance probably will be issued by the court, Sheehan said.
Comments (3)
When the first Nuclear Fuel arrived in 1960 at Indian Point # 1 The Goverment Agency in charge
was the AEC Atomic Energy Commission. There was a plan to build a fuel reproccesing plant.
The State of New York and all the Federal Agencies never made the new Nuclear Regulatory
Agency address a plan to build a National reprocessing plant in New York State or New Jersey.
Where does our Congress stand? Other countries reprocces there fuel elements.
Why did the taxpayers spend almost 90 billion dollars on the Yucca Mountain facility? That is 90 BILLION!! It was fine for Nevada and Harry Reid to take this money, but when it came down to actually opening it. harry said NO. You know the same guy who said no to actually producing a budget .
All those "green people" bitch and moan about the environment but are willing to put a fossil fuel generating plant in Indian Points place. I guess green house emissions are NOT that important to them, is it?
BRAVO.
New York Political forces are continuing to increase atmospheric pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by winning another battle against Atomic Energy for electric power production.
These political creatures are wonderful at herding New York State to full Third World status.