AG James Announces Agreement To Shut Down, Remediate Indian Point

BUCHANAN, NY — An agreement has been reached for the decommissioning and cleanup of the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Westchester County.

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the agreement Thursday with Holtec International and its subsidiaries.

The joint proposal, which is subject to approval by the state Public Service Commission, was negotiated by the state, environmental organizations, Entergy and Holtec.

Entergy is the current owner of Indian Point.

If the agreement is approved by the PSC, ownership of the nuclear power facility will be transferred to Holtec, which would be responsible for the swift, complete and safe decommissioning and remediation of the facility and site in Buchanan.

James said her office has worked hard to ensure that Indian Point is dismantled and cleaned up responsibly.

"Once fully approved, this agreement will result in a safer, faster and more thorough decommissioning process that exceeds stringent federal standards," she said in a prepared statement. "We will continue to work diligently to see this closure through with an eye toward the safety of millions of New Yorkers."

The joint proposal is available for public comment and is expected to be voted on by the PSC May 13.

Entergy agreed in 2017 to close the two remaining and operating nuclear reactors at Indian Point.

Unit 2 was powered down in April 2020. Unit 3 is scheduled to cease operations April 30.

Entergy and Holtec filed an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in November 2019 to transfer the license. In January 2020, the NRC announced it was considering approval of an application by Entergy to transfer the Indian Point license — and the facility's trust funds to pay for decommissioning — to Holtec to implement the facility's decommissioning.

At a news conference Wednesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the closing of Indian Point was not about being against nuclear power.

"You don't put nuclear power on top of one of the most densely populated locations in the globe," he said.

U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-Cold Spring, said he's supported responsibly phasing out operations at Indian Point since he became a congressman.

"We must ensure adequate funds are available to safely complete the decommissioning and finally close this site down," he said. "Indian Point has been a risk to the Hudson Valley and the entire region for too long."

At one time, the plant employed close to 1,000 people. It covered half of the village of Buchanan's annual tax base and one-third of the Hendrick Hudson school district's tax base. Indian Point paid $1 million a year to the town of Cortlandt and $4.5 million a year to Westchester County in lieu of taxes.

According to a state Labor Department notice, layoffs covering all 308 current employees are scheduled for May 20.

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