PLYMOUTH — The state has still not tested samples of untreated water from the spent fuel pool and other areas of the former Pilgrim nuclear plant, members of the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel learned at their Jan. 23 meeting.
Seth Pickering, the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) representative on the panel, said sampling had not yet been done because none of the laboratories contracted by his agency could handle the contaminated water. The agency planned to ship the samples to Eurofins Scientific’s testing laboratories in Colorado, he said.
Pickering said that the sampling procedure could now continue as planned, with representatives from DEP and the Dept. of Public Health present. Both agencies will still be provided with some water from the samples. DPH will test it for the presence of radionuclides. DEP will test for the presence of nonradioactive contaminants that are prohibited under the current discharge permit.
David Noyes, Holtec’s senior compliance manager, told the panel in November that the company plans to file an application for a modification to its current discharge permit at the end of the first quarter of 2023. Noyes said at the time that the company would not proceed with any release of radioactive wastewater while the permit modification is underway.
That reassurance came after the Environmental Protection Agency sent a letter to Holtec President Kelly Trice in December saying the discharge permit didn’t allow the water to be released into Cape Cod Bay and that any violations could result in fines and even imprisonment.
“We recognize the authority of the EPA,” Noyes said at that time.
That permit modification will trigger an extensive review, Pickering said, involving state and federal agencies.
During a short public comment period, Joanne Corrigan, who lives close to the Pilgrim plant, pointed out that none of the two million gallons of wastewater at Vermont Yankee, which is being decommissioned by NorthStar, went into the Connecticut River. “Vermont might be a bunch of pot-smoking tree-huggers,” she said, “but they had enough sense to give the legislature the final say on what went on at the plant.” The water was hauled offsite to a disposal facility.
