Nuclear plant's opponents want agency to expand review

Sep 20 -

McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - John Doherty The Times Herald-Record, Middletown, N.Y.

Opponents of the Indian Point nuclear power plant think the federal government isn't looking at all the right issues.

That was one of the strong sentiments at a public hearing yesterday about Indian Point's license renewal application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The NRC-sponsored hearings yesterday -- one in the afternoon and one at night -- are part of the agency's review of Indian Point and Entergy, the company that runs the two reactors in Buchanan.

But the hearings cover only the environmental concerns at the plant.

"There are a lot of other concerns about whether Indian Point should exist that just do not fall under the review," complained Elizabeth Seagel, a Tarrytown resident.

The highway network around the plant was built before the Lower Hudson Valley experienced the explosive growth of recent years. Could those same roads accommodate an evacuation if there was an emergency at Indian Point, residents wondered?

Gary Shaw of Croton, who lives six miles from Indian Point, recalled that on the day in 2003 when the federal government approved Entergy's updated evacuation plan, a car crash on the George Washington Bridge turned all of Westchester County's major roads into a parking lot.

"Whenever I'm in one of those jams, I picture those roads jammed as Indian Point's sirens wail," he said.

But the NRC review of Indian Point is limited to whether the aging equipment at the plant can "reasonably assure" safety for the next 40 years of licensing. And the NRC offered no answers yesterday -- just a chance for citizens to be heard.

Residents also voiced concerns about the stored nuclear waste at Indian Point, which has built up for years while a permanent dump is constructed and approved at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

The licenses for the plant's two reactors expire in 2013 and 2015.

The public comment heard yesterday will be part of the NRC's draft environmental impact study, which is due out next July.

Public hearings will again be held after that report is issued.

A final environmental report is to be issued in April 2009.

Residents unable to attend the public hearing who would like their concerns considered by the NRC can still submit comments. The NRC is taking comments until.