Opinion by Jacqui Drechsler
On August 18, 2023, Governor Hochul signed the Save the Hudson bill into law. The bill aimed to protect the Hudson River from radioactive wastewater (from the decommissioning of Indian Point) from being released into the river. Many municipalities, villages, towns and counties โ along with bi-partisan support from elected officials and the public (with 444,000 signatures on petitions), put pressure on Governor Hochul. The Rockland County Legislature passed an excellent Resolution in support of the bill.
Governor Hochul seems to be gung-ho on nuclear for NY State and this would be taking us in the wrong direction. Nuclear energy is too costly, takes too long to build and from start to finish creates deadly radioactive waste. There is no national repository.
Renewable energy is not radioactive
There are many concerns regarding high level waste from nuclear power facilities. The federal government is still working on having a permanent repository for this waste โ which is so dangerous it must be separated from the environment, humans and wildlife โ some of it for up to one million years.
In the meantime, where ever there are nuclear reactors, there will continue to be nuclear reactor waste communities, many of which are in disadvantaged communities. Something being called Consolidated Interim Storage (CIS) sites are being proposed by decommissioning companies where they propose to move the waste out of nuclear reactor communities and across the county to CIS sites โ still short term โ not permanent sites. Nuclear reactor decommissioning companies such as Holtec International LLC, who is decommissioning Indian Point and several other nuclear power reactors in other states, want to be able to move the waste throughout the country to CIS sites.
The moving of radioactive waste puts our environment and the public in harms way. The proposal to move waste up or down the Hudson River by barge in the case of Indian Point to a port near NYC and NJ in order to then move it by railroad to CIS sites across the country is unconscionable. I speak for many us in the lower Hudson Valley who love our river. Considering how much effort went into the making of the Save the Hudson bill, it is quite ironic to now have to consider the possibility of even more potential degradation and harm. Because accidents will happen. On bodies of water and by railroad. The safest concept is Hardened On Site Storage (HOSS).
This week, the Supreme Court will make their decision on a lawsuit that includes these issues.

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