WHEN: Monday, January 31, 2022 5:00-6:15 PM
WHERE: Plymouth Town Hall Great Room, 26 Court Street, Plymouth, MA in person [masks/social distance] or virtual-see link below
WHAT: Halt Holtec-Speakout to protect our bays with federal and state officials, Aquaculture and Fishermen Associations, Environmental Organizations, Indigenous communities, and concerned citizens speaking out to protect our bays.
WHY: As part of the decommissioning of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant, owner Holtec-Pilgrim plans to dump a million gallons of radioactive water into Cape Cod Bay, causing long term harm. We call on Holtec to be responsible and immediately remove dumping into the bay from their business plan. Currently, Holtec has the ability to dump at any time without prior approval of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. A recent article by Christine Legere in the Provincetown Independent included an interview with a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute expert: "The shape of the land creates a semi-enclosed space. “Whatever is put in the bay would stay there a long time,” said senior scientist and oceanographer Irina Rypina. “It wouldn’t flush out quickly." " Full article here
Mary Lampert, Director of Pilgrim Watch: "Experience makes clear that Holtec will take the cheap route – and dump the radioactive water into our protected Ocean Sanctuaries. The NRC allows it, that does not make it safe; Holtec has been clear that it will do anything that the NRC allows. The economic harm that dumping this radioactive water into Cape Cod Bay cannot be over-stated. Holtec’s plan to dump the radioactive water will destroy a multi-million dollar shellfish, aquaculture, and fishing industry. It will have similar serious impacts on many boat and marine industries, to say nothing of tourism and our beaches, on which the livelihoods of our towns depend. Holtec has another safer option-ship offsite to a licensed facility- like NorthStar is doing at Vermont Yankee instead of dumping into the Connecticut River"
Diane Turco, Director of Cape Downwinders: "The people now realize the irreparable damage Holtec plans to create. What we have here is a corporation trying to protect its bottom line and a community trying to protect the health of our families, the livelihoods of our coastal communities, and the habitat of marine life. Dumping must be immediately removed from the Holtec plan."
Mark DeCristoforo of the Massachusetts Seafood Collaborative: "The Massachusetts Seafood Collaborative, as representative of the interests of the seafood industry, vehemently opposes the dumping of even one drop of radioactive water into Cape Cod Bay. That an act of such profound environmental vandalism is not already prohibited by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission proves how important grassroots action is in the fight to defeat it.
We must not let the failures of past technologies, and the failure of our regulatory agencies destroy our marine environment."
Melissa Harding Ferretti, Chairwoman of the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe:
"WATER IS LIFE! Indigenous people and tribal communities throughout North America remain on the frontline of efforts to oppose projects that will be destructive to the natural world – our Mother Earth. We know that we have an inherent responsibility to protect our world that is rooted in an enduring connection to the land, water, and wildlife."
John Pappalaerdo, CEO, Cape Cod Fishermen's Alliance: In particular, we believe that a proposal from Holtec International, responsible for decommissioning the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, to discharge into Massachusetts Bay is a serious breach of public trust and environmental stewardship, with potential for wholesale economic harm as well. Holtec has no right to use our Commonwealth’s marine environment as their dumping ground. While the company says there will be no environmental or health impacts, their proposal invokes a strategy that has been discredited time and again: The solution to pollution is not dilution.
Henrietta Cosentino, League of Women Voters: “The League of Women Voters is dedicated to sustaining the health of our environment. The federal government have failed us because the NRC is corrupted and serves corporate interests instead of the citizens it is supposed to protect. That’s why we must demand that state exercise the authority it has to halt Holtec’s monstrous plan to contaminate our Bay, which is our lifeblood”.
Stephan T. Cole, Executive Director of The Plymouth Foundation: "At a time when we are trying to recover from the impacts of a 2 year pandemic, it is unconscionable that our harbor will be treated like a dumping ground. This will irreparably alter our reputation as a tourist destination and it will inhibit our economic potential. Tourism is the bedrock of our economy and growing the Marine Tech and Trade industries will position Plymouth to be competitive. I'm left wondering what our options are if this material is released into our harbor."
To join our ZOOM SPEAKOUT 5:00-6:15 PM
NOTE: Right after the Speakout, plans were made to attend the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel meeting which was scheduled to commence at 6:30 PM in the same room. BUT the NDCAP meeting has just been moved to virtual only. We asked for reconsideration for the usual hybrid meeting considering this is a good opportunity for the state panel to engage the public as required by regulations. That request was refused. Another request was made to hold their public comment time at the beginning of the meeting. That request was also refused.
The panel includes representatives from Holtec and the Baker administration.
Go here for Zoom link for the NDCAP 6:30-8:30 PM meeting
Mark E. DeCristoforo
Massachusetts Seafood Collaborative
973-610-1612
Melissa Harding Ferretti
Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe
508.304.5032
Stephen T. Cole | Executive Director
The Plymouth Foundation
32 Court Street, Suite 2A
Box #10
Plymouth, MA 02360
P: (774) 343 – 5024
F: (774) 343 – 5025
The Speakout will be live broadcast by Art Egerton, Pembroke Town News
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