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Holtec plans to announce Pilgrim Station water sample results by next month
After months of requests from elected officials, residents and protest groups, water sample results from the remaining wastewater on site at the shuttered Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station should be made public by the end of next month.
Those results are expected to include radiological and non-radiological elements identified in the 1 million gallons remaining at the site, according to a representative from Holtec, the company responsible for the plant’s decommissioning, which noted the results would indicate the state of the water prior to treatment. The water is stored in the spent fuel pool and other locations.
“This would not be representative of the water that would be a candidate for potential discharge,” David Noyes, the Pilgrim senior compliance manager for Holtec, said during the most recent meeting of the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel (NDCAP) held in Plymouth July 25.
Background:No decision reached on wastewater disposal at shuttered Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station
The “potential discharge” into Cape Cody Bay of treated batches of the million gallons Noyes referenced has been of concern to local, state and federal officials, as well as residents, environmentalists, and members of the fishing, tourism, hospitality, real estate industries, since last November, when Holtec first announced its plans to do so.
More:Holtec commits to not discharging Pilgrim plant water until third-party testing gives OK
In a June 17 response to Holtec Decommissioning International (HDI) President Kelly Trice, EPA Region 1 Water Division Director Ken Moraff refuted the company’s claim it could discharge the water if properly treated first under its current NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit.
He described the company’s position as a “novel interpretation” of that permit.
Not so fast:EPA rejects Holtec Pilgrim Plant wastewater discharging plan, see why they disagreed
Despite that, Moraff said the EPA would be open to reviewing any applications to modify its permit or seek a new one altogether.
“(I)f presented with a modification request and an appropriate characterization of the proposed discharges, EPA would analyze the submission in accordance with applicable Clean Water Act requirements, including those discharges must meet technology-based effluent limits or any more stringent limits necessary to meet state water quality standards,” the letter read.
The eventual fate of the million gallons of wastewater, as well as the potential impacts any decision would have on the local ecosystem and economy, has led to numerous protests, discussions and even a congressional field hearing on the issue held in Plymouth by Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, back in May.
Federal response:Sen. Markey's congressional hearing on nuclear decommissioning in Plymouth gets commitment
Holtec said both in the hearing with Markey and the July 25 meeting that it was willing to split sample results so it could be shared with an independent third-party lab.
Noyes said Holtec would announce a decision on its preferred course of action by the end of the year. Whether the company can execute its plan remains to be seen, considering the EPA’s response.
Markey spokesperson Jim Cantwell attended the NDCAP meeting via Zoom and said the senator’s office would monitor Holtec’s adherence to its pledges.
“These are critical commitments, and we intend to hold Holtec accountable to ensure they are filled,” Markey said in a letter read by Cantwell, noting the fact that other options to releasing the water exist.
Cantwell said more information, such as details on which group or agency would be chosen to test the samples would come by the NDCAP’s next meeting Sept. 26.
“There’s a lot of work happening right now concurrently, but we’re hoping to come back in September with more to share,” he said.
The meeting was attended by well over two dozen audience members, many of whom wore the blue shirts of the Save Our Bay advocacy group and carried signs expressing opposition to any discharge plans
Ongoing protests:Save Our Bay rally in Plymouth prior to hearing on nuclear plant decommissioning processes
Their contamination concerns include the radioactive isotope tritium, which cannot be filtered out of the water. Critics of the release into the bay say the element can bioaccumulate in the water over time and pose a health risk to sea life and, through the food chain, humans.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, not the EPA, is responsible for setting radiological discharge standards.
The other options for disposing the water include evaporating it on site, trucking it to an out of state storage facility or, as recently added, storing the water on site indefinitely, which would delay completion of the decommissioning.
Holtec International CEO and President Kris Singh wrote in a June 6 letter to Markey a month after the hearing that seemed to eliminate trucking as an option on Holtec’s end.
He estimated transporting the water off site could cost upward of $20 million and would entail 250 4,000-mile roundtrip truck trips using 125,000 gallons of diesel fuel.
Singh said that would violate the company’s tenets of “environmental justice.”
Evaporation, meanwhile, would require a significant amount of diesel fuel to run the process that was previously undertaken with the plant’s existing power while operational.
While the water could be stored on site, Noyes said the company would prefer to continue fully decommissioning the plant.
“Our goal is to remove material from the site as it is generated and not become a waste storage site,” he said.
Noyes said all the options are still being considered.
“We will not say we will not discharge water into Plymouth Bay,” Noyes said. “That is still an option that remains on the table.”
He also presented slides showing chlorine, sulfate and nitrate levels in the plant’s water are well below the levels in the town’s drinking water due to the need for extra filtration and demineralization to ensure the plant’s safe operation.
“We needed to maintain water quality at a very high level,” he said.
Asked in several different ways, Noyes said Holtec would not discharge any water if the action is deemed illegal or at least not allowed under its current permit.
Tension and distrust
Continued charges against Holtec’s honesty and transparency continued to be expressed by several audience members, some of whom spoke at the microphone and others who shouted their feelings.
NDCAP member Henrietta Constantino, for one, used Reagan’s “trust but verify” line in relation to Holtec’s sampling without outside confirmation of the results.
“There's no way to know where they got the water from,” she said. “I’d like to have the state do the job. I and many people feel it would be in the best interest of the environment and health to provide that assurance. Perception is important, too.”
In response to a number of those repeated charges, along with her opinion that people asking Holtec and others questions were not allowing those people a chance to respond without being cut off or shouted over, NDCAP Chairman Pine duBbois struck out at several speakers, including Constantino and fellow panel member, anti-nuclear activist Mary Lambert.
“We have to trust someone,” she said. “You have to believe they know more than you do, so don’t assume that they're trying to lie. I don’t think we know anything more than we knew in November when we started this discussion. We need to try to get as much info as we can. Don’t assume we should hate them.”
Still, her tone towards several individuals prompted one speaker to characterize her behavior as lacking decorum.
“You've been rude and condescending to every person who’s spoken here tonight,” Save Our Bay and Plymouth Water Conservation Committee member Kristine Danielson said.
Not everyone who spoke, however, took an aggressive tone.
Lobsterman Steven Carver, who also has a degree in marine fisheries biology, said the full development of a lobster from larval stage to consumable crustacean takes seven years. He advocated for longer-term testing before making any decisions.
“I just want to ensure my son and future generations can make a living here on Cape Cod Bay,” he said.
Work continues
Despite the tensions, unanswered questions and decisions yet to be made or announced, Noyes reported Holtec continues to work according to schedule.
Six of the eight underground diesel oil tanks have been removed. Noyes said none of the tanks had any signs of cracking or leaking.
Several buildings have been abated and demolished, and the plant's trash compaction facility has been cleared of any hazardous materials and will be demolished beginning next month.
More than 50 percent of outbuilding square footage has been removed.
The 14 spent fuel pool racks have been removed and will continue to be trucked to a facility in Texas.
Returning to the water issue, Noyes said Holtec believed it had the means to ensure only clean water is discharged from the site if allowed to do so.
“We have every reason to believe we can provide water that does not contain primary pollutants,” he said.
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