Power Plant Cases - Latest Developments

Riverkeeper responds to Entergy’s public relations blitz and dispels the myths the newspaper and radio ads are touting regarding closed-cycle cooling towers vs. wedgewire screens. Don’t allow Entergy to wage a one-sided war on a captive reading/listening audience. Read and share this article, and spread the truth! Learn More

Indian Point’s owner Entergy Corporation dealt two significant blows by New York State regulators First, on April 2, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) denied a critical water quality certification required before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission can relicense the nuclear plant. The DEC determined that the continued use of Indian Point’s antiquated once-through cooling system violates state standards, because it withdraws and discharges about 2.5 billion gallons of river water a day and causes the death of almost 1 billion aquatic organisms per year due to entrainment, … Learn More

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has denied a critical water quality certification required for the relicensing of Indian Point. This is a crucial turning point and major victory in the battle to halt Indian Point’s environmental assault on the Hudson River and force the plant’s early retirement. Riverkeeper has been spearheading this campaign since 1966, and last month submitted formal comments urging the DEC to deny the certification based largely on the impacts cited in the DEC decision. In denying the certification, the DEC determined that the … Learn More

The New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) rejected the proposal submitted by Entergy Corporation and its subsidiaries to spin-off six nuclear power plants, including three in New York, to a new business entity, Enexus Energy Corporation. The decision by the five Commissioners reflected the recommendation by their Advisory staff, who found that the spin-offs were not in the public interest, citing the significant financial risks posed by the transaction, including Enexus’ future junk bond status and $3.5 billion debt on day one of its ownership of Indian Point. Riverkeeper intervened … Learn More

On April 1, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Clean Water Act provision governing cooling water intake structures does not forbid cost-benefit analysis when determining “best technology available” for power plants. The Court also ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may decide to not engage in such analysis. That’s good news for Riverkeeper, who is now looking to the Obama administration and EPA to revise the rule it wrote in February 2004 and to write new regulations favoring the preservation of fish and other aquatic life. Learn More

On March 18, Riverkeeper (RvK) submitted comments opposing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) review of the environmental impacts of Indian Point, which recommended relicensing the plant. Refuting NRC’s claims that the plant poses no significant public or environmental health threats, RvK's comments state that the plant kills more than a billion fish every year; its spent fuel pools are leaking radioactive water; it is vulnerable to terrorist attack; and, it is amassing thousands of tons of nuclear waste that will remain on the site for decades. Learn More

On March 5, the NRC denied an appeal filed by Entergy, the owner of Indian Point, which sought to throw out an important environmental claim raised by Riverkeeper in its challenge to the plant’s relicensing. Riverkeeper’s claim objects to Entergy’s assessment of the environmental impacts of highly toxic radioactive water leaks from the facility’s spent fuel pools. Now that the Commissioners have rejected this final appeal, Riverkeeper, bolstered further, will continue to litigate this important issue. Learn More