ML20023B329

LTR-20-0019 Senator Charles Schumer, Et Al., Letter Request for NRC to Extend the Public Comment Period for the License Transfer for Indian Point

ML20023B329
Person / Time
Site:	Indian Point
Issue date:	01/21/2020
From:	Schumer C, Gillibrand K, Lowey N US Congress, US SEN (Senate), US HR (House of Representatives)
To:	Kristine Svinicki NRC/Chairman
Shared Package
ML20023B331	List: ML20023B329
References
LTR-20-0019
Download: ML20023B329 (2)

Text

tinitcd ~rotes ~cnatc WASHINGTON, DC 20510 January 21, 2020 Kristine L. Svinicki Chairman Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mail Stop 0-16 833 Washington, DC 20555-0001

Dear Chairman,

We write you today to strongly urge the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to extend the public comment period on the license transfer of Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC) from Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (ENOI) to Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC (HDI) from thilty days to sixty days. The roughly three hundred page license transfer application is a comprehensive and technical document that will prove to be a vital roadmap for local otlicials, stakeholders and residents in the surrounding Westchester and Hudson Valley communities that will be both directly and indirectly impacted by the closure of lPEC. Providing only thirty days for the public to review the document after it is published in the Federal Registrar does not allow the affected communities to provide meaningful input to NRC on this license transfer application.

It is imperative that the NRC extend the public comment period to allow the thousands of community residents, stakeholders, public officials and advocates throughout the Lower Hudson Valley the opportunity to comment, discuss and give meaningful input on this significant proposal that will undoubtedly have a drastic impact on their communities within the immediate future.

The NRC designed the public comment period for license transfer applications to last thirty days with an understanding that the sale of these major facilities involved large sums of capital that awaited the conclusion of the comment period to proceed. In this instance that is not the case.

Entergy has noted that they are targeting May 2021 for closing the *sale of IPEC to HDI. _With no capital waiting on the line for the conclusion of this comment period, an extension of the public comment period would allow the surrounding communities adequate time to provide their input on this transfer. Assuming the license transfer application is submitted in the Federal Register in the next two weeks, the new closing date for the public comment period would be the middle of March 2020, a full year ahead of the sale's proposed closing date.

Furthermore, our constituents throughout the Lower Hudson Valley, specifically in the Westchester communities where IPEC has been located for over 57 years, and will continue to be a neighbor, deserve adequate time to offer their comments regarding this NRC decision that wil1 impact their daily lives. IPEC is located in one of New York's most densely populated counties, with over 967,600 residents as of 2018, and accounted for approximately 5,400 in-state jobs including its 1,000 full-time employees as of 2015. From employees to local labor unions going to work each day at IPEC, to the thousands residents and local stakeholders with a vested interest in the decommissioning of Indian Point, it is fundamental that the NRC allows ample time for crucial community input.

We appreciate yotrr efforts to ensure a safe, responsible, and transparent decommissioning of IPEC, however, we believe it is imperative that the public have adequate time to submit their comments* and concerns. It is our sincere request that you extend the public comment period from thirty days to sixty days to gather, comment, and give adequate input from the affected communities. Thank you for your attention to this important matter and please let us know if we can be of any assistance.

Sincerely,

~ ,dt.t!AZ.-~

Charles E. Schumer Kirsten Gillibrand United States Senate United States Senate

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~itaLowey United States Represen=