Tension Over Nuclear Reaches Boiling Point

Recent calls from Mike Lawler regarding the previously shut down Nuclear Energy facility Indian Point have prompted much backlash from both elected officials in Rockland and local activists. A fiery tit for tat via email newsletter was had between Lawler’s team and the Rockland Legislature over Lawler’s support for the reopening of Indian Point. 

The plant was shut down in 2021, some say permanently, after calls from the Cuomo administration and Hudson Valley activists demanded its closure. Many have cited the potential environmental impacts of the facility, and the general danger associated with nuclear power. Before it shut down, the plant directly employed 1,000 people from across the Rockland/Westchester area and provided electricity for 10% of New York states’ electricity needs and 25% of New York City’s. It also generated billions of dollars in economic output for the region and state with its then owners, Entergy, paying $30 million in local and state property taxes in 2014. 

Elected officials pointed out what they saw as the numerous safety and environmental issues with the plant as the reason for its closure. In 1980, 100k gallons of contaminated waste water leaked into the Hudson River. In 2010, an explosion occurred in a transformer in unit 2, which led to oil spilling into the Hudson as well. 

Among other incidents, these were pointed to by advocates for the plant’s shut down.

The closing of the plant was controversial with then governor Andrew Cuomo calling for a full investigation into the facility’s operations by New York State public health and environmental officials.

Calls to close the plant began in earnest in 2015, though even more controversy arose when it was revealed that two of Cuomo’s aides had previously worked as natural gas lobbyists who lobbied for the closure of Indian Point prior to working for the former governor. The former governor also accepted many campaign donations from other energy companies, which some allege influenced his decision to call for Indian Point to be shut down. 

In 2026, Congressman Mike Lawler renewed calls for the facility to be reopened. He and those who support the reopening cite the fact that nuclear power is far cleaner and safer for the environment than other energy alternatives. Since Indian Point’s closure, New York State’s carbon emissions have jumped by 35% and the state’s natural gas generation has jumped by 4%. Lawler has also cited a more than 58% increase in Hudson Valley electricity bills as the main reason for reopening the plant. 

Figures like Legislator Alden Wolfe and Legislator Beth Davidson have been staunch in their opposition to the proposed reopening. The recent earthquake in Sleepy Hollow, reported as a magnitude 2.3, has renewed concerns over the facility’s ability to handle seismic activity, despite the fact that Indian Point is built to withstand up to a magnitude 6.1 seismic event. Both legislators in a press release renewed their calls to find and develop safe, clean, renewable energy sources, but believe that reopening the nuclear plant poses too much of a risk to the region.