| LIGHTS ON —
FOR NOW
Editorial
New York Post
August 1, 2003
New Yorkers can stop sweating: Electricity from the Indian
Point nuclear power plant will continue to allow their lights
to keep shining and their air conditioners humming.
For a while, anyway.
The plant's critics recently seemed to be making gains in
their drive to shut off the juice, particularly after 9/11.
But federal officials last week OK'd the plant's evacuation
plans, significantly setting back the candlelight crowd.
Officials "ignored the concerns of the local communities,"
groused Sen. Hillary Clinton, whose Chappaqua home is within
the evacuation zone.
Of course, that simply isn't true.
What happened is that the Federal Emergency Management Agency
and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, an independent body,
simply disagreed with local leaders, whose concerns are necessarily
more parochial.
The decision wasn't just right — it was critical.
Let's face it: New Yorkers simply can't do without Indian
Point.
It pumps out 2,000 megawatts of juice — the equivalent
of some 20 percent of New York City's usual load.
And the city's economy depends on power supplies that are
not just adequate, but reliable.
Plus, experts say that, statewide, New Yorkers actually are
running short of power — and will be 7,000 megawatts
short within the next few years.
And no one — not the environmentalists, the local Not-In-My-Backyard
whiners, the emergency planners or the pols, from Gov. Pataki
down — has any plans to replace Indian Point's output.
So how could the plant be closed down — without closing
down the local economy along with it?
Since 9/11, the plant's foes have been waging a scare campaign,
claiming residents are at greater risk because of the terrorism
threat at Indian Point.
They had hoped to convince regulators that the added threat
made existing evacuation plans insufficient.
Playing to the crowd, Pataki ordered a study — which
found some areas where plans could be improved. But no one
has cited any serious risks to residents.
And for a very good reason: There aren't any.
The plant has long been nearly impregnable to 9/11-style
terrorism. And security has since been shored up even more.
FEMA officials apparently understand that while emergency
evacuation plans might be made better, they are perfectly
acceptable for now as is.
Whereas shuttering Indian Point would not be.
New Yorkers owe these folks a huge debt of gratitude —
particularly for overriding their own, cynical local officials.
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