CROTON-ON-HUDSON, NY: New York State Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg and Chair of the Westchester County Board of Legislators Catherine Borgia held a press conference on Friday, April 14 to call for continued vigilance to protect the interests of Hudson River communities throughout the Indian Point decommissioning process. They were joined by a bipartisan group of lawmakers from both sides of the Hudson River: New York State Assemblymembers Steve Otis, Chris Eachus, and MaryJane Shimsky, former State Assemblywoman Sandy Galef, and Westchester County Legislators Vedat Gashi, Terry Clements, and Jimmy Nolan. Local elected officials in attendance included Cortlandt Deputy Supervisor James Creighton, Ossining Town Supervisor Elizabeth Feldman, and Peekskill Common Council Member Kathleen Talbot. A diverse array of local advocates also came out to support the effort, including Tracy Brown, President of Riverkeeper; Courtney Williams, Peekskill resident and co-founder of the Safe Energy Rights Group; Susan H. Shapiro, Attorney & Board Member of the Radiation & Public Health Project and the Rockland Environmental Group; Kathy Meany, President of the League of Women Voters of Westchester; and Joyce White, a Hendrick Hudson School District parent, joined by several members of the Hendrick Hudson PTA.

In her remarks, Assemblywoman Levenberg expressed gratitude to those who have pushed for the state to have more oversight and insight into the decommissioning process, including independent testing of the water by the state. “It is critically important to have a continued conversation over this process, and for all stakeholders to have meaningful input,” said Levenberg. “The state also needs more control over what happens in the waters that run through our communities,” she added, alluding to her bill, A5338, which would give the state the ability to ban radiological releases in New York waterways.

Chairwoman Borgia called on all participants in this decommissioning process to set a new and much higher standard for attending to the health and safety of the environment and the residents in communities surrounding shuttered nuclear plants. “We need to be thinking not just about the day a plant is closed, but 10 years, 20 years, 100 years afterward,” said Borgia. “The nuclear power industry sprung up quickly and there was not much thought given to the waste the plants generated, or to what would happen when a plant closed. That was a failure, and we don’t want to make a catastrophic mistake now that will impact this community for generations down the line. We want this to be the best decommissioning process, with a high level of care and study, not just the bare minimum required.” She shared a small leaflet outlining actions community members can take to make themselves heard on the issue, such as participating in a public statement hearing scheduled for April 25 and the Town of Cortlandt’s Rally to Save the River coming up on May 6.

The group celebrated Holtec International’s decision to pause its plan to discharge tritiated water in May, announced the evening prior, crediting the many advocates who joined lawmakers in a loud public outcry against the plan. “Holtec’s decision to pause its hastily planned release of 1 million gallons of radioactive wastewater into the Hudson River demonstrates the power of local residents organizing to protect their communities and our river,” said Tracy Brown, President of Riverkeeper. However, she added, “While the release timeline starting as early as May has been suspended, the tritiated wastewater could still be discharged during the summer while people are swimming and fish are migrating and spawning in the Hudson. This plan is totally unacceptable. We have a decommissioning oversight board for Indian Point to ensure environmental and public health don’t lose out against corporate profits. Riverkeeper stands with our community and our elected officials, calling on Holtec to engage with that board and agree upon a disposal plan for the radioactive wastewater that supports the current health of our Hudson River and Valley.”

Cancer researcher and co-founder of the Safe Energy Rights Group Courtney Williams also spoke, emphasizing that much remains unknown about the potential impacts of this type of radiation on women and children, and that what is known should give us pause. “Legal does not mean safe. Medical experts have made clear that radiation impacts human health, with women and children being most at risk,” said Williams. “Buchanan-Verplanck Elementary School is only 4000 feet from the reactors! Holtec will pocket the profits while the public pays the price,” she emphasized, asserting that the company’s economic interest in a speedy decommissioning process is the only argument against a slower process that would be more protective of human health.

Levenberg stressed that she was not intending to be alarmist, but instead pushing for a paradigm shift away from viewing rivers as industrial dumping grounds. “All of these small amounts of radiation add up. We should be trying to eliminate exposure whenever possible and seeking alternatives to exposing people to unnecessary radiation where alternatives exist,” she said. Other speakers, such as Susan Shapiro, pointed out that the half-life of tritium is 12.5 years, and that one option for safely disposing of the wastewater involves holding the wastewater in double-lined tanks and simply waiting until it is no longer dangerously radioactive before releasing it.

“Access to clean and potable water is one of the top concerns of the residents of Orange and Rockland County,” said Assemblyman Chris Eachus. “We have spent the past decade vigorously locating and rectifying contaminated water in our area, including the recent discovery of PFAS and PFOAs in municipal water sources. To allow any decommissioning plans at Indian Point that knowingly involve direct contamination of the Hudson River would be a costly mistake that would affect the lives of residents in the Hudson Valley for generations to come. This is why it is imperative that we pass A5338 to prohibit any radiological agent from being discharged into our water systems. Our communities, families, and children deserve a safe and thriving Hudson River.”

Other speakers concurred. “We have spent decades cleaning and protecting the waters of the Hudson River. The plan to release radioactive water into the Hudson is clearly an action that should not be allowed,” said Assemblyman Steve Otis.

“Dumping highly toxic substances into public waterways is a terrible idea,” said Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky. “Holtec's plan to release radioactive water into the Hudson River has drawn an outcry from local government and our residents, and rightly so. We all must redouble our efforts to stop it, and insist on a safer option for our beloved river and the communities along it.”

“The League of Women Voters of Westchester fully supports the fight to not dump radioactive wastewater from the Indian Point nuclear site into the Hudson River during the decommissioning process,” added Kathy Meany, President of the League. “The League stands beside our neighbors and communities to ensure the long term health of our citizens and the environment remain sound.”

Though Holtec International has announced that they will pause their plan to begin discharging radioactive wastewater into the Hudson in May, communities along the river remain outraged by the possibility of future discharges. A growing list of municipalities have passed resolutions against the proposed plan and in support of A5338/S5181, which would give the state the ability to ban radiological releases into the waters of the state. Questions remain about the risk tritiated discharges pose, particularly to women, children and other vulnerable populations. There are also questions about Holtec’s practices and management of the site, raised most recently in a letter U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand sent to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week.

Additional statements from A5338 co-sponsors and other supporters

“The release of radioactive wastewater into the Hudson River is unconscionable and must be stopped. Such an action would be detrimental to our health, our water quality, and our environment. We simply cannot allow this dangerous dumping to occur.”-Assemblymember Chris Burdick, 93rd Assembly District

“My district, representing the City of Yonkers, borders the Hudson River and will be negatively impacted by the release of this radioactive wastewater. For many in Yonkers, the Hudson is a major part of their lives and livelihoods. It is completely unacceptable and irresponsible for this release to occur, and I am proud to be a co-sponsor of this legislation to prohibit the discharge of any radiological agent into our State’s waters. Untold numbers of people up and down the Hudson will be negatively impacted by this, and I will fight to see that this does not happen.”-Assemblyman Nader Sayegh, 90th Assembly District

“We cannot allow the energy industry to have free reign to poison the Hudson River with radioactive materials, threatening the source of water for over 100,000 New Yorkers. Holtec’s recent decision to postpone their toxic dumping is a positive step, but it would be unconscionable to allow them to proceed with this move to dump radioactive waste in the future. We must pass this bill to protect New York’s water from being poisoned and preserve our environment. I am thankful to my colleague Assemblymember Dana Levenberg for leading on this issue and putting forth this crucial legislation.”-Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon, 52nd Assembly District

“I am calling on Governor Hochul and all our elected officials to do everything in their power to stop the dumping of radioactive waste into the Hudson River. Rational and reasonable mitigation alternatives exist, such as storing the radioactive water in double-lined tanks on site until the radioactive levels decrease over time -which is reduced 50% every 12.5 years, and within 50 years is no longer dangerously radioactive. We are calling on Governor Hochul to support and sign legislation to stop dumping radioactive waste into the Hudson River and to instruct the DEC, DOH and PSC to enforce New York State’s protective 1 in a million standard, to especially protect the most vulnerable - children, women and EJ communities as well as endangered sturgeon species in the Haverstraw Bay.” Susan Shapiro

Click here for photos from Friday’s event.