[ad_1]
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Thursday that Holtec International will put $63,000 into a ratepayer fund aimed at demolition of the Indian Point Nuclear Generating Plant to support baseball and softball teams, golf outings and high school fashion. He pointed out that he was sponsoring the show.
The NRC said the payments “do not constitute legitimate decommissioning activities” and gave Holtec 30 days to respond to the violation notice.
Holtec was told to repay the roughly $2 billion it took out of the decommissioning trust fund it took over after acquiring the Lower Hudson Valley nuclear power plant from Louisiana-based Entergy in May 2021. .
The fund is primarily funded by fees collected from ratepayers during the plant’s 60 years of operation.
The payments were made between July 2021, when Holtec took over the plant, and June 2023, as revealed by NRC’s review of financial records and interviews with company officials.
closure: Why Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant won’t close until 2041
Where did the $63,000 go?
Funded organizations include a Little League team, the Cortland girls softball team, a fashion show at Hendrick Hudson High School, a golf outing and a parade.
“We take our responsibility as stewards of trust funds very seriously,” Holtec spokesman Patrick O’Brien said. “We are also deeply committed to the local community as part of the decommissioning process. In the spirit of being strong community partners, we provide these services as part of our regular community outreach and engagement activities. A charitable expenditure was made. We take violations very seriously and have already remedied the amount to be returned to the trust fund with interest and to ensure that this issue does not recur with future community and charitable donations. We are taking action.”
The NRC also disclosed an unspecified amount of decommissioning funds spent lobbying New York state lawmakers, but chose not to find any violations.
“The NRC believes that lobbying activities related to continuing to inform and educate New York State legislators about decommissioning issues at IPEC (Indian Point Energy Center) are within the scope of the purpose according to the definition of decommissioning. “We determined that…” the NRC wrote in the document. Letter to Holtec President Kelly Trice.
Similarly, the NRC authorized Holtec to spend decommissioning funds toward litigation costs related to the U.S. Department of Energy’s spent fuel resolution efforts.
DOE agrees to pay nuclear power plant owners to store steel and cement canisters loaded with spent nuclear fuel on-site until underground repositories for domestic radioactive waste are constructed did.
Critic: The closure of Indian Point was meant to quiet anti-nuclear critics.not a chance
More bad news for Holtec
This is the latest setback for Holtec, which last month paid a $5 million penalty to the state of New Jersey to avoid prosecution over alleged misstatements on tax credit applications related to its Camden, N.J., manufacturing site. agreed to pay.
The tax credit for Holtec and its affiliated real estate companies was $1 million.
Holtec denies wrongdoing and said it agreed to resolve the dispute “under threat of baseless and retaliatory criminal prosecution.”
And last year, the company sparred with environmental groups over plans to release millions of gallons of radioactive water recovered from the plant’s spent fuel pool into the Hudson River.
radiation: Hochul signs Indian Point bill, but radioactive waste debate intensifies
After Gov. Kathy Hochul sided with environmental groups and signed legislation banning the release in November, Holtec said it needed more time to complete the demolition. Instead of demolishing the plant’s three reactors and other buildings on the 240-acre site by 2033, Holtec said it would take until 2041 to do so.
Radioactive water will remain on site while Holtec considers legal challenges.
[ad_2]
Source link