Save the Hudson bill signed into law

Dumping radioactive wastewater into the Hudson is now a no-no, officially. On Friday, Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Save the Hudson bill into law “which is intended to protect the economic vitality of the Hudson River Region by restricting discharges of any radioactive substance into the Hudson River in connection with the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant.”

Holtec, the company in charge of the decommissioning of the Indian Point nuclear plant, had planned to begin discharging more than one million gallons of leftover radioactive wastewater into the Hudson River starting on September 15.

In response, advocacy groups, like Riverkeeper, alongside residents and more than 30 local municipalities passed resolutions supporting the Save the Hudson Bill, introduced by NYS Assemblymember Dana Levenberg.

“The administration will continue to work closely with federal regulators, Holtec, local officials and the State’s Decommissioning Oversight Board to identify feasible and acceptable alternatives of wastewater disposal so that decommissioning Indian Point can continue, jobs can be preserved, and the site can be cleaned up in a safe, thorough, and prompt manner,” a press release from the governor’s office said.

Under the new bill, the penalty to dump radioactive waste into the Hudson is now “a civil penalty not to exceed $37,500 for the first day of violation, $75,000 for the second day, and $150,000 per violation thereafter.”

What will now happen to the leftover radioactive waste currently being stored at the Indian Point facility? Riverkeeper “calls for the secure on-site storage of the contaminated water on the Indian point site for at least a period of 12 years. This would allow one half life to elapse and reduce the radioactivity of the spent fuel pool water.”

Holtec has not yet replied to inquiries seeking comment on the bill.

The Indian Point Decommissioning Oversight Board will meet again on September 21, 2023: https://dps.ny.gov/event/indian-point-decommissioning-oversight-board-meeting-september-2023

Read the bill: NYS Legislation: S.6893/A.7208