nuclear-news

Moderator says no to Concerned Neighbors of Pilgrim’s town meeting

http://manometcurrent.com/moderator-says-concerned-neighbors-pilgrims-town-meeting-articles/#more-13980

by Matthew Nadler on February 25, 2014

Efforts to put restrictions on the storage of spent nuclear fuel at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station have suffered a setback.

Heather Lightner of Concerned Neighbors of Pilgrim told the Nuclear Matters Committee that Town Moderator Steve Triffletti told her he wouldn’t allow their article calling on Entergy to speed up the transfer of spent fuel at the plant from the pool inside the building into dry storage outside it. According to Lightner, Triffletti told her the town didn’t have the authority to take that action. She added that the moderator has a policy against non-binding articles like the ones her group proposed.

“We vigorously disagree with the decision,” attorney Meg Sheehan of EcoLaw said. According to her, Triffletti based his decision on the legal opinion of Kopleman and Paige attorney Elizabeth Lane, who holds that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has sole jurisdiction over atomic energy regulations. The NRC, Sheehan said, is only responsible for the safety of the plant. The town, she said, can regulate other matters there. Town meeting “should have the power to voice an opinion,” she said.

Lightner told the board her group had withdrawn article 32, which would have restricted the storage of spent nuclear fuel at Pilgrim to what was created there.

The Advisory and Finance Committee, and the Board of Selectmen, had supported both articles.

Sheehan said that Concerned Neighbors of Pilgrim is considering its options. Both articles are on the agenda for Tuesday’s selectmen’s meeting and Wednesday’s finance committee meeting. In an e-mail, Lightner said she plans on making a statement before the selectmen.

February 26, 2014 - Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized