Holtec Needs to Address Disposal of Radioactive Water

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The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protect (MADEP) has issued a Tentative Determination denying the request of Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC (Holtec) to dump 1 million+ gallons of radioactive wastewater from the former Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (Pilgrim) into Cape Cod Bay.  A copy of the Tentative Determination can be found below.

As part of its plan for decommissioning Pilgrim, Holtec sought to discharge 1.1 million gallons of wastewater that are being held in various portions of the remaining facility. Despite local opposition, Holtec simply “announced” that it was allowed to proceed with this dumping under its existing permits and thus intended to do so. However, on June 17, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a letter to Holtec advising that its existing permits, notably its EPA permit issued under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), did not allow for such discharge. Holtec subsequently filed applications to modify its EPA permit, as well as its MADEP permit and its Nuclear Regulatory Agency permit to allow it to discharge the wastewater into Cape Cod Bay. The MADEP Tentative Determination is the first decision on those applications.

In its proposed denial of the MADEP permit modification, the MADEP has focused its decision on the requirements of the Ocean Sanctuaries Act (“Act”), M.G.L. c. 132A, §§ 12A – 18. Cape Cod Bay falls within the definition of Ocean Sanctuary under the Act. Section 15 of the Act prohibits the “dumping or discharge of commercial, municipal, domestic or industrial wastes” into ocean sanctuaries. M.G.L. c. 132A, § 15(4).  The MADEP found that:

"The water is stored in the spent fuel pool, torus, dryer separator, and reactor cavity, was utilized in the Facility’s industrial operations, is contaminated, and is now proposed to be discarded." 

Therefore, according to Holtec’s application and the definition of “wastes” contained in the Massachusetts regulations, the water Holtec is proposing to discharge is industrial waste, the dumping of which is prohibited under the Act.

In its modification application, Holtec cited to certain narrow exemptions to the Act’s prohibition against discharges into ocean sanctuaries. For instance, Section 16 of the Act exempts “activities, uses and facilities associated with the generation, transmission, and distribution of electrical power.” M.G.L. c. 132A, § 16. However, Pilgrim has long ceased electrical power generation. Moreover, the MADEP noted that the waters proposed for discharge have been used for decommissioning processes, including dismantlement of plant systems, and their disposal is required as part of the decommissioning process. Since the proposed discharge is associated with decommissioning of Pilgrim, and not the generation, transmission, or distribution of electric power, this exception does not apply. 

Holtec also cited to an exemption for “the operation and maintenance of existing municipal, commercial or industrial facilities and discharges.” Its argument was that because there has been prior discharges into Cape Cod Bay, future discharges should also be permitted. However, the MADEP found that there are currently no discharges from Pilgrim, and such discharges are now explicitly prohibited by Holtec’s MADEP permit, which was issued on January 30, 2020. Since this new proposed discharge is not the continuation of an existing discharge, the exception does not apply.

There is now a 30 day “public comment” period before the MADEP issues its Final Determination on the Holtec application. during which the MADEP will accept public Comments can be submitted to MassDEP electronically at massdep.npdes@mass.gov. Written comments can be submitted to: 

MassDEP Surface Water Discharge Permitting Program

100 Cambridge St., Suite 900 

Boston, MA 02114. 

Those wishing to read more may find the following links helpful:

Cape Cod Times 

CBS News

Boston Globe (Reload if Subscription Pop-Up Appears)