Plymouth Selectmen Ask NRC for Briefing on Entergy Building Plans

Entergy, the owner of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, has submitted applications to build dry cask storage units, also called "Interim Spent Fuel Storage Installations" and the Board of Selectmen wants to know what role town and state officials have in the process.

Town Manager Melissa Arrighi has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to answer questions regarding the building application and the zoning permit application submitted by Entergy to the town in January and March.

Selectmen are concerned about potential hazards of the installation, particularly during unusual events or accidents such as earthquakes or floods. The board also wants information regarding the nature of safety reviews, structural considerations, as well as how safe the storage installation will be to the general public and nearby residents.

In her letter, Arrighi points out several specific questions including:

[I]f the dry cask storage process has been approved previously for Entergy at the Pilgrim Facility. If so, when and pursuant to what type of review? Was the approval granted pre-Fukushima indicents? How does the town of Plymouth know that Entergy's casks and other elements of the ISFDI project are safe and appropriate for teh Pilgrim site now and in the future? What happens if Entergy's ISFSI installation is faulty? In the event of plant mothballing or closure, is Entergy authorized to continue to implement the ISFSI project at Pilgrim
Is the "nuclear decommissioning fund" used to develop the ISFSI project? Is an Environmental Impact Statement required before construction begins at a particular site? If not, why not?
Please provide information on ISFSI projects that have been implemented at other sites: Are they safe? Have any problems, environmental, safety or otherwise, been reported to the NRC? What are the problems? 

NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said the NRC would respond to the request “sometime in the near future.”

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