BUCHANAN – Further evaluation of permanent
forced outages at the Indian Point nuclear power plants will be made before
any decision on how to reduce the impacts to aquatic life, a state Environmental
Conservation administrative law judge ruled Wednesday.
The preliminary ruling is part of the ongoing administrative hearing on
the facility.
DEC staff and other parties to the proceeding have proposed several technologies
to be evaluated with other alternatives to include requiring Entergy to
install wedgewire screens at intake pipes, requiring the company to install
closed-cycle cooling towers; and a “no action” alternative.
Indian Point spokesman Jerry Nappi said the administrative law judges’
rulings “provide for evidentiary hearings on NYSDEC staff’s
proposal to require Indian point to stop generating electricity each year
during generally moderate to hot weather periods.” He said Entergy
“will participate fully in such hearings eve as we preserve our
position that they are unnecessary.”
Nappi said Entergy will review the rulings in greater detail in the coming
days.
Under the federal Clean Water Act, DEC must seek to reduce the impact
to aquatic life as part of the ongoing operation of Indian Point. As part
of the process, DEC must consider reasonable alternatives to achieve the
goals of the Clean Water Act.
Alternatives weighted in the process would be used to formulate DEC’s
determination on the best technology available to reduce impacts.
