A state appeals officer ruled Thursday that local residents, organizations, and two town governments will be allowed to participate in an appeal regarding the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station.
Seven entities — including individuals, organizations, towns, and groups filing together — filed motions seeking to be part of the appeal.
The owner of the nuclear plant, Holtec International, hopes to overturn the denial of a state permit to discharge reactor-system water into Cape Cod Bay. The water would be treated, but not all radioactive material could be removed.
The company is pursuing an administrative appeal. The appeal is similar to a court case, but it goes before a presiding officer in the state’s Office of Appeals and Dispute Resolution.
Members of the community have been trying to establish standing to participate in the proceedings.
The presiding officer granted four entities status as intervenors and three as participants. Intervenors become like parties to the case, taking an active role throughout the proceedings. Participants have a lesser role.
The intervenors will be the towns of Barnstable and Plymouth and two groups: one led by the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, and one led by Duxbury resident Jim Lampert, who also chairs the state advisory panel on Pilgrim.
The groups of intervenors led by the Association to Preserve Cape Cod includes the Cape Cod and Islands Association of Realtors, the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, and the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen's Alliance, in addition to individual residents.
The presiding officer issued an order directing Holtec to initiate settlement discussions by next Thursday. The intervenors will be part of that discussion.
The parties must file a status report by Nov. 20. If settlement discussions are ongoing, they’re allowed to continue negotiating until Dec. 4. But if the status report shows the parties have reached an impasse, they need to file a proposed schedule for the appeals process to move forward.
