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Entergy Statement on NRC's September 19 Public Meetings
September 21, 2007
On Wednesday, September 19, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission held a public meeting - with afternoon and evening sessions - to receive comments from area citizens regarding Indian Point Energy Center's license renewal environmental review.
Following an overview of the relicensing process at each session, the floor was opened up to the public for comments. There were comments both for and opposing the relicensing of IPEC. However, the majority of comments supported Indian Point managers for their environmental stewardship, improvement efforts, overall operations and the need to renew IPEC's license in the face of a looming energy crisis and poor air quality.
Below are some of the organizations and individuals represented and comments offered by community members at those meetings:
- Buchanan Mayor Dan O'Neill
- Dr. Patrick Moore
- New York AREA
- Utility Workers Union of America
- African American Men of Westchester
- Mt. Vernon Hospital
- Rockland Business Association
- Business Council of Westchester
- Boilermakers Union
- Union Local 740
- First Responders
- Croton Resident
Dr. Patrick Moore, Greenspirit Strategies Ltd. and former co-founder of Greenpeace
- "Now, you might be surprised to hear me advocate so strongly for nuclear energy. But the fact is a lot has changed in the 35 years since that initial voyage, and my views have changed along with these new circumstances."
- "As an advisor to NY AREA...I make it widely known that I strongly believe nuclear energy is the electricity source that can save our planet from another enormous challenge...potentially harmful climate change."
Norris McDonald, African American Environmentalist Association.
- "The license renewal of Indian Point is vitally needed because if units two and three are not producing emission-free electricity, then the air pollution will increase throughout the region, which will exacerbate conditions in minority communities already overburdened by pollution sites. Indian Point provides reliable emission-free energy without contributing pollutants that exacerbate asthma. Closure of Indian Point would also result in compliance issues for the State with respect to the federal Clean Air Act State Implementation Plan ("SIP") and to meeting the requirements of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)."
Marsha Gordon, President, The Business Council of Westchester
- "With 34,000 businesses in Westchester County - employing over 408,700 workers with a total annual payroll of more than $19 billion - we feel the premature closure of the Indian Point Energy Center will commit irreparable damage to the regional economy due to the loss from the large amount of electricity, jobs and taxes the site provides to the area."
Earle Walker, Regional Alliance for Small Contractors
- "Reliable electricity is critically important to New York's future, and nuclear energy is a reliable, affordable component of our State's diverse fuel mix. Indian Point should continue to play a role in the State's energy plan now, and well into the future. We cannot afford to lose any of the vital existing generating capacity that the Indian Point provides to New York City and the lower Hudson Valley. Without Indian Point's 2,000 megawatts, energy costs would rise over an estimated $1 billion a year in the New York area. There could be wholesale price spikes as high as 40 percent and impacts to electric system reliability."
Kathryn Wylde, President & CEO, Partnership for New York City
- "The 21st Century businesses that New York City must retain and attract require a resilient reliable and redundant source of power. The closure of Indian Point would reduce the amount of power for New York State's electrical grid by 11 percent, jeopardizing economic growth and limiting our competitiveness. New York cannot afford to lose any existing generating capacity serving the downstate area."
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