Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant To Close By 2021, Reports Say
BUCHANAN, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The aging Indian Point nuclear power plant will be closed by 2021 under a new agreement reached with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, multiple reports say.
A person familiar with the agreement but not authorized to speak publicly confirmed the agreement on the condition of anonymity to The Associated Press on Friday.
One of the plant's two nuclear reactors will cease operations by April 2020, while the other must close down by April 2021, the New York Times reported.
"It is insane to be operating a nuclear power plant in the New York metropolitan area," Gary Shaw told CBS2's Brian Conybeare.
More than 17 million people live within 50 miles of the plant, which sits along the lower Hudson River 30 miles north of the city.
Shaw has been fighting to shut down the plant for 16 years and welcomed the news of the apparent deal.
"The devil is in the details. Anything that will stop the plant from operating is a good thing," he said.
After radiation leaks, fires and unplanned outages, Cuomo has called the aging plant dangerous and vowed to close it. But a spokesperson told CBS2, "Governor Cuomo has been working on a possible agreement for 15 years, and until it's done, it's not done. Close only counts in horseshoes, not for nuclear plants."
The plant's owner, Entergy nuclear, would not comment on the potential deal. The company has been in a nearly decade-long battle to renew the licenses for the two reactors, but they may now be ready to give up that fight.
"This could be economically catastrophic," Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino said.
Astorino, who ran against Cuomo in 2015, said losing more than $5 million in taxes and all the plants jobs would hurt.
"There's a thousand people at the plant," he said. "All of the businesses that to business with Entergy, and let's not forget the ratepayers. We have the highest energy prices in America."
Even if the plant does close, they still have to deal with all the radioactive waste in the spent fuel pools.
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