Communities surrounding the Indian Point nuclear power plant have banded together to show their support for an Independent Safety Assessment at the Indian Point nuclear power plant.

Below is list of Counties and Municipalities that have passed the resolution or are considering a resolution. If your muni is not listed, you can print out the resolution on the right and ask your local elected leaders to show their support for an Independent Safety Assessment by passing the resolution.


Counties that have Passed ISA Resolution
Rockland County Passed December 19, 2006
Putnam County Passed February 6, 2007
Westchester County Passed February 12, 2007

Counties considering ISA Resolution
Dutchess County

Municipalities that have Passed ISA Resolution
Village of Croton-on-Hudson Passed July 10, 2006
City of Beacon Passed August 7, 2006
Village of Ossining Passed September 19, 2006
Town of Ramapo Passed December 13, 2006
Town of Putnam Valley Passed December 13, 2006

Municipalities that have supported Federal Legislation for ISA
Town of Cortlandt Passed November 14, 2006
Town of Stony Point Passed February 13, 2007

Municipalities considering ISA Resolution
Peekskill

What is the status of the ISA legislation?

On February 12, Congressman John Hall (D-NY), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Christopher Shays (R-CT), and Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) reintroduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that would require an Independent Safety Assessment (ISA) at the Indian Point nuclear power plant. The legislation requires an in-depth review of Indian Point’s vital safety and mechanical systems, the spent fuel pools, and radiological emergency evacuation plans. Riverkeeper has been advocating for an Independent Safety Assessment in light of ongoing and increasing safety problems at the plant.

The legislation calls for an Independent Safety Assessment like the one conducted at Maine Yankee after a series of problems raised serious safety questions about that nuclear plant in the mid 1990s. Indian Point, which unlike Maine Yankee is located in a densely populated metropolitan area, has had a similar rash of safety and mechanical problems during its thirty-plus years of operation. Moreover, plant employees have alleged that the plant’s owner and operator, Entergy, has created a “chilled environment” that hinders workers from raising safety concerns. And several recent reports have concluded that the NRC is failing its mandate to thoroughly protect public health and safety.

Recently, under public and political pressure for a Maine Yankee-style Independent Safety Assessment at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, the NRC revised the Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) in order to include a biennial engineering assessment inspection known as the Component Design Bases Inspection (CDBI). While this new inspection did uncover a series of safety problems at Vermont Yankee, it is not considered a replacement for the Independent Safety Assessment. The differences between the two review protocols are stark. The Maine Yankee assessment incorporated over 17,000 hours of inspection by a team of twenty-five experts with no prior affiliation with Maine Yankee. In comparison, the NRC’s current CDBI incorporates approximately 700 inspection hours with NRC inspectors and contracted engineers. The State of Maine played an active role in the inspection process, while the CDBI only allows State officials to observe the review process.

On February 15, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton introduced similar legislation in the U.S. Senate and called on Entergy to agree to an Independent Safety Assessment of Indian Point.


What is an ISA?