As reported by the Associated Press, the State of New York Secretary of State has denied a coastal management certificate to Entergy Nuclear, for its twin reactor Indian Point nuclear power plant near New York City. The Secretary of State, Cesar Perales's, decision is the latest blow to Entergy's application for 20-year license extensions.
As reported: "For over 40 years, Entergy's Indian Point nuclear facilities have been damaging the coastal resources of the Hudson River estuary," the state agency wrote. That includes 2.5 [billion gallons] of water withdrawn daily from the Hudson for cooling that kills an estimated 1 billion larvae, small fish and other organisms annually.
Beyond Nuclear has reported on Indian Point's impacts on the Hudson, in its Licensed to Kill report.
Entergy could build cooling towers to mitigate such impacts on the Hudson, but refuses to make the investment, despite Indian Point's nearly $1.5 million per day in net profits from electricity sales.
Indian Point 2's initial 40-year operating license expired in 2013. Indian Point 3's license expires next month. But NRC's loose rules allow both units to continue operating, until NRC's final decision on the license extension is made. Already, the Indian Point license extension proceeding, begun in 2007, is the longest lasting in U.S. history. Hearings will resume this week, including intervenor Riverkeeper.