Protecting Cape Cod Bay Against Holtec’s Radioactive Waste
Issue in brief: As part of the decommissioning of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, an effort APCC supports, Holtec International has proposed discharging over a million gallons of radioactive water into Cape Cod Bay. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection recently issued a preliminary denial of Holtec’s permit application to discharge the wastewater into Cape Cod Bay. The denial is based on the Oceans Sanctuaries Act state law, which prohibits new industrial discharges of pollutants into Massachusetts waters designated as ocean sanctuaries. APCC is fully committed to forcing Holtec to respect the law and to preventing the use of Cape Cod Bay as a dumping ground.
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What’s The Latest?
March 8, 2024 – Holtec agrees to $200,000 fine for illegal handling and disposal of asbestos.
March 4, 2024 – Federal regulators issue citation to company behind the Pilgrim nuclear facility clean-up. The Boston Globe
February 29, 2024, Violation Notice. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a violation notice to Holtec for inappropriate expenditure of decommissioning funds and order the funds be repayed to the Trust Fund supporting the decommissioning of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant. The $84,000 of public money Holtec used to buy goodwill from the community may be small dollars in the grand scheme of things, but it is tangible proof that Holtec in not transparent and takes liberties with the public trust. This same misuse of public funds was cited in 5 different locations and come on the heels of Holtec avoiding criminal prosecution in New Jersey by the payment of a $5 million settlement.
Holtec has attributed adding 8 years to the closure schedule due in part to concerns the Trust Fund having enough money to complete the work. The cynicism of that claim is laid bare by this misuse of funds. Small violations are often a sign of big problems and a lack of concern about being caught and being held accountable. The fact that these illegal expenses were incurred from 2020 to 2022 and were not cited by the NRC until 2024 is further evidence that the NRC’s oversight is fundamentally flawed and does not provide adequate assurances to the people of Massachusetts that our interests are being adequately protected.
August 24, 2023 public meeting – DEP will conduct the Aug. 24 hearing, which starts at 6 p.m. in the Great Hall at Plymouth Town Hall. To estimate the number of people who would like to speak, DEP is asking attendees to fill out a voluntary pre-registration form online.
July 24, 2023 – APCC welcomed the announcement by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection that it has signaled its intent to deny Holtec International’s permit application to discharge over one million gallons of radioactive wastewater from Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station into Cape Cod Bay. The tentative denial issued by MassDEP is based on the Oceans Sanctuaries Act state law, which prohibits new industrial discharges of pollutants into Massachusetts waters designated as ocean sanctuaries. The Cape Cod Bay Ocean Sanctuary was created in 1971. The tentative determination against Holtec’s permit application will be subject to public comment through August 28, according to DEP’s announcement.
May 25, 2023 State report details radioactive pollutants in Pilgrim wastewater. WBUR
May 24, 2023 Five Isotopes Found in Pilgrim Water Samples. Provincetown Independent
May 23, 2023 State Tests at least 5 radioactive materials, plus PFAS, in water at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. WCAI
April 10, 2023 The Association to Preserve Cape Cod’s legal analysis was presented to the administration of Governor Maura Healey requesting that it invoke the state’s authority under the Ocean Sanctuaries Act to stop the discharge of radioactive wastewater from the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station into Cape Cod Bay by Holtec International. Read the letter here.
April 4, 2023 WCAI reports the company that owns the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, Holtec, has applied for a federal permit to discharge water from the spent nuclear-fuel pool into Cape Cod Bay. The application would modify an existing permit. WCAI
March 17, 2023 Senator Markey’s letter to Holtec executives Read the Letter (PDF)
March 3, 2023 The EPA Region’s response to APCC’s letter of December 20, 2022, concerning Holtec-related communications. Read the Response (PDF)
December 14, 2022 APCC applauds EPA Region 1 for its strong and unequivocal stance that the proposed discharge of radioactive water into Cape Cod Bay is illegal. APCC remains deeply concerned that Holtec will decide that illegally discharging and paying the fines is a good bottom-line financial decision. Our legal team is developing the necessary filing to seek court intervention to change the calculus around proceeding with an illegal act to include penalties not limited to fines. Executives at Holtec may view proceeding differently if the penalties for doing so become personal.
Of course, all this can stop, and focus turned to the important work of decommissioning the plant safely if Holtec does the right thing and simply says: there will be no discharge of radioactive water into Cape Cod Bay. APCC’S legal efforts will stop when that commitment is made, until then we will keep going. Read EPA’s letter here (PDF).
December 14, 2022 EPA warns Pilgrim Nuclear of jail time; company doubles down on refusal to delay water discharge WCAI
December 14, 2022 EPA says Holtec can’t dump contaminated wastewater in Cape Cod Bay without new permit WBUR
December 14, 2022 Doing What is Necessary – by Andrew Gottlieb, APCC Executive Director
The Association to Preserve Cape Cod has a long history of influencing public policy through advocacy and education. We have found that bringing people along generally yields the best outcomes and creates bonds and partnerships that yield long term benefits for Cape Cod. There are times however when it’s necessary to be willing to go to court to enforce what is lawful and right to protect the environment. This is one of those times.
APCC has engaged the law firm of Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen, P.C. to provide advice concerning issues arising from the potential discharge of radioactive water into Cape Cod Bay by Holtec International during decommissioning of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. READ MORE.
December 6, 2022 Cape Cod group hires Boston law firm to fight discharge of Pilgrim’s radioactive water WCAI
The Bomb Next Door Eighty years into the atomic age, U.S. nuclear power reactors have produced several million tons of radioactive waste—and we still have no idea how to dispose of it
By Thomas A. Bass | June 1, 2022
November 11, 2022 State Will Test Pilgrim Water for Contaminants – DPH does not want to see Holtec release wastewater into the bay Provincetown Independent
December 3, 2021 Keating: Holtec has decided to dump radioactive water into Cape Cod Bay Cape Cod Times
November 30, 2021 Radioactive Water by Andrew Gottlieb, APCC Executive Director
As of last week, I was pretty sure that the proposed siting of the multi-purpose machine gun range on top of the water supply that serves the Upper Cape was the winner of the worst environmental idea award for 2021. I am no longer sure as we learned of a proposal to discharge one million gallons of radioactive water to Cape Cod Bay. This supremely horrible proposal surfaced Thanksgiving week just after Black Friday and before Cyber Monday to ensure as few saw it as possible. READ MORE
April 22, 2019 For 46 Years, Pilgrim Nuclear Plant Has Used Water From Cape Cod Bay. How Has It Impacted The Ecosystem? WBUR
January 10, 2018 APCC Calls for Pilgrim Shutdown after Latest Storm Related Shutdown CapeCod.com
For some background on the history of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station:
Timeline: The 52-Year History Of The Pilgrim Nuclear Plant WBUR – aired May 29, 2019