Demolition of the reactor building at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station is scheduled to begin in 2031, but that timeline assumes two big things.
It assumes that the dispute over radioactive wastewater in the plant has been resolved, and it assumes that the resolution favors the owner, Holtec International.
Holtec is seeking permission to discharge water from the reactor system into Cape Cod Bay as part of the decommissioning of the plant. The water would be treated but still contain some radiological material.
If Holtec can’t discharge the water into Cape Cod Bay, the timeline for demolition and reuse of the property could stretch longer, a company representative said this week.
David Noyes, a compliance manager at Holtec, was responding to questions from a member of the state’s nuclear advisory panel.
“It assumes a positive outcome,” he said. “It assumes that we are permitted to be able to discharge that water.”
“And what if you’re not?” asked panel member Andrew Gottlieb, who is executive director of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod.
“Well, then we’ll have to make adjustments to the schedule,” Noyes replied. The schedule's underlying assumptions are continually reevaluated, he said.
Last summer, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection denied Holtec’s application for a permit to discharge the water. The company filed an appeal with the Office of Appeals and Dispute Resolution, a quasi-independent office under the umbrella of the department.
Noyes said at the Monday meeting of the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel that the demolition date hinges on Holtec succeeding in its state appeal — or if not, then in federal court, if necessary. The current timeline shows demolition happening from 2031 to 2034.
Also Monday, an environmental consultant discussed the results of an investigation into the presence of PFAS chemicals in groundwater at Pilgrim.
Consultant Matthew Daly of Environmental Resources Management said the PFAS chemicals appear not to come from a single-point source. The different types and levels of PFAS in different locations suggest multiple sources.
“We're seeing highly variable individual concentrations of individual PFAS compounds,” he said.
No evidence has been found of firefighting foam, a known source of PFAS, being used at Pilgrim, he said, but one possible source is plastic casings on electrical and communications cables.
