Hen Hud, Entergy Reach New PILOT Agreement

CORTLANDT, NY — Hendrick Hudson district officials and Entergy agreed to a revised schedule for the corporation's payment in lieu of taxes for the Indian Point Energy Center that gives the schools about $2 million more than expected over the next two years.

Indian Point will permanently shut down by April 30.

The agreement, covering the 2020-21 and 2021-22 fiscal years, replaces a 10-year agreement between the two that had been approved in 2015.

Entergy will make payments of $22,279,822 to the school district for the current fiscal year and $16,232,442 for the 2021-22 fiscal year. This represents an increase of $636,566 for 2020-21, and an increase of $1,947,891 for the 2021-22 school year, district officials said.

"Indian Point/Entergy has been a great partner with the school district," Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter said in an announcement. "We're pleased we were able to reach an agreement to renegotiate the PILOT to receive additional funds beyond the amount originally anticipated. This will further lower the burden on taxpayers as Indian Point moves into the decommissioning phase."

Tony Vitale, site vice president at Indian Point Energy Center, said that Entergy was pleased to have reached an agreement with the school district to provide clarity on the tax revenue following the closure of Indian Point.

"It is important to note,” Vitale said, "that the terms of the new agreement will apply to Holtec after they take ownership of the facility, which is planned for 2021, following regulatory approval."

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is currently reviewing an application to transfer the license for the plant from Entergy to Holtec International, which has proposed decommissioning and demolishing the facility by 2033 (federal regulations give plant owners 60 years to decommission a plant, which can include stabilizing it to spend years un-demolished).

There is litigation ongoing about Holtec, including a coalition of 12 states supporting Massachusetts's challenge to the NRC's approval for the transfer of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station's license to Holtec. In addition to leading that coalition, New York Attorney General Letitia James also filed a petition to intervene in the transfer of Indian Point to Holtec.

Holtec is in charge of decommissioning and cleaning up several closed nuclear power plants, including the Oyster Creek Generating Station in New Jersey. When it proposed expanding its spent-fuel storage area there, neighbors expressed fear that the company was going to make it a storage site for other closed plants. The company is applying for a permit to make a storage site in New Mexico. SEE ALSO: San Clemente: San Onofre Begins New Chapter As Fuel Transfer Operations End

Meanwhile, Entergy continues preparations for Indian Point's full shut-down next year. There are three reactors at Indian Point. The Unit 1 reactor was permanently shut down in 1974 and has been in long-term storage since then, awaiting decommissioning. Unit 2 was shut down in April. Unit 3 is scheduled to be shut down in 2021.