Patch: Rally Set To Ban Radioactive Wastewater Discharge In Hudson River
Michael Woyton
August 14, 2023
Organizers are urging Governor Kathy Hochul to sign legislation prohibiting wastewater discharge into the river that was passed in June.
WHITE PLAINS, NY —A rally is being held Tuesday to urge Governor Kathy Hochul to sign legislation that would prohibit the dumping of radioactive waste from nuclear plants in the Hudson River.
The rally will be held at noon Tuesday outside the Westchester County Center, 198 Central Ave. in White Plains.
Hochul will be in White Plains Tuesday as part of her educational listening tour for the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act.
The legislation to prohibit radioactive wastewater from being discharged into the Hudson was passed by both the Senate and the Assembly in June.
Among the speakers at the rally are Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg, Assemblyman Steve Otis, Senator Shelley Mayer, Assemblyman Chris Burdick and Food & Water Watch Hudson Valley organizer Emily Skydel.
When contacted by Patch for a comment, Skydel said that the “Save the Hudson” bill has been sitting on Hochul’s desk since it was passed in Albany.
“Governor Hochul remains silent on the issue,” she said, even as more than 400,000 people, 35 municipalities and more than 130 advocacy groups have called on her to sign the legislation.
Skydel said the wastewater from Indian Point could be discharged as early as September. What will be allowed into the river contains toxic contaminants including radioactive tritium, exposure to which is linked to cancer, miscarriages, genetic defects and other adverse health effects.
With members of Hochul’s administration in White Plains hearing comments on the Environmental Bond Act, Skydel said, “The public will have the opportunity to weigh in on the best way for Governor Hochul to protect our environment and water.”
When the legislation was passed in June, Patrick O’Brien, director of government affairs and communications for Holtec International, the company in charge of decommissioning Indian Point, said that science shows that “discharge to the river is the safest option for dealing with the processed and treated water.”
He said that was supported by the Decommissioning Oversight Board’s independent third-party expert and years of environmental monitoring and reporting.
O’Brien said radiological discharge is the sole purview of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and Holtec hopes the governor’s office vetoes the legislation based on the assessment that radiological discharge is federally preempted.