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BUCHANAN, N.Y. - As hearings regarding the operating license renewal of the Indian Point nuclear power plants draw near, special interest and advocacy groups are ramping up their public relations campaigns.
Advocates both for and against closing the plants have invited members of the media to participate in teleconferences to get a sense of the issues involved.
New York Reliable Affordable Electricity Alliance, of which Indian Point owner and operator Entergy is a member, had a teleconference Thursday afternoon.
"This is not going to be one of those days where there's going to be a circus in the audience," said Arthur "Jerry" Kremer, alliance chairman, referencing notoriously raucous Indian Point safety hearings conducted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
"The NRC has done great in-depth investigation into Indian Point, and we think it will ultimately be found safe and will merit renewal," Kremer said.
Once all the hearings are finished, the three-person panel hearing the testimony will present its findings and make a license recommendation to the commission. Still, even after four days of hearings beginning Monday, and eight days set for later in the year, it will be years before a license renewal decision is issued.
Issuance of license renewals have been suspended by the commission until the agency resolves a court ordered re-examination of long-term on-site nuclear waste storage, a policy the federal agency is hoping to complete in two years.
No spent fuel arguments will be heard in the meantime. Owner and operator Entergy will be allowed to operate the plants until a final licensing decision is reached, so their plants likely will operate past their original license expiration dates of 2013 and 2015, respectively for units 2 and 3.
Of the 10 contentions, or legal assertions that re-licensing Indian Point would violate federal law, two will be presented by Riverkeeper. Before the hearing Monday afternoon, the advocacy group has scheduled its own teleconference that morning.
"People have questions in regards to Indian Point and the hearings are a perfect time to make people aware of a New York energy future without Indian Point," said Tina Posterli, a spokesperson for Riverkeeper.
The panel already has toured the plants and received arguments from interested parties, including Entergy, the state, Riverkeeper and Hudson River Sloop Clearwater. The hearings function similar to those of the U.S. Supreme Court, where judges question interested parties on information they already have reviewed.
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