Governor Baker continues to prove his inability to comprehend complex issues and stand for the safety of Massachusetts residents.
The superficial letter ignores many issues including the on-site storage of nuclear waste, the age and design of the outdated nuclear plant.
Pilgrim Nuclear is the same age and design as Fukushima.
Pilgrim Nuclear has been fraught with equipment problems.
Senator Wolf gets it right! Pilgrim Nuclear should be shut down for the safety of Eastern Massachusetts.
Governor Baker puts priority on his Tea Bagger issues, like Charter Schools and privatization and little else. What has he accomplished to solve the DCF fiasco?
Guv pens letter to Pilgrim Nuclear Plant owners
An "appropriate root cause analysis of the shutdowns" should be performed
- See more at: http://www.capecodtoday.com/article/2015/09/03/226045-Guv-pens-letter-Pilgrim-Nuclear-Plant-owners#sthash.EjEBJB2S.dpuf
In response to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's announcement yesterday that the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth has been downgraded to the Repetitive Degraded Cornerstone Column of the agency's Action Matrix, Governor Charlie Baker sent a letter to Entergy, the company that owns the facility.
"While I am reassured the the NRC's decision that Pilgrim Station continues to operate safely and that the specific issues are of low to moderate safey significance, I nonetheless urge Entergy to take all steps necessary to perform an appropriate root cause analysis of the shutdowns and to complete all necessary repairs and corrective actions," the letter to Entergy Site Vice President John Dent said.
In addition to announcing Pilgrim's slide from Column 3, the Degraded Cornerstone Column, to Column 4 (Column 5 is Unacceptable Performance), the NRC promised an increase in oversight at the Plymouth plan.
Unlike many of the local politicans and grassroots organizations that continue to call for the closing of Pilgrim, the governor acknowledged the "significant role" the facility plays in "our region's fuel mix and the economy of Southeast Massachusetts."
"With that said," the letter continued,"the most important task at hand is for Entergy to ensure the safety of the plant's operations and that of all of the residents of the Commonwealth that live within proximity to the plant."
In response to the governor's letter, Bill Mohl, President of Entergy Wholesale Commodities said, "Entergy continues to operate Pilgrim Station safely and under the watchful eye of the independent inspectors at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. We look forward to a continued close and thorough examination of operations at Pilgrim. We have made changes and equipment upgrades that have already resulted in positive enhancements to operational reliability. We will work closely with the Governor, the NRC and all stakeholders to make sure that we communicate the steps we are taking to improve plant operations as we continue to operate safely going forward."
Following the NRC announcement Wednesday, the governor told reporters, "I do believe it’s safe, yeah." Governor Baker said Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) officials are in "constant contact" with NRC. On Thursday, State Senator Dan Wolf, a long-time supporter of closing Pilgrim, called the governor's comments "off-hand" and "irresponsible".
"On the very day that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) placed Pilgrim among the three worst reactors in our nation, our governor issued an off-hand, simplistic comment about the plant being 'safe'," Senator Wolf said. “It is irresponsible for the governor of our Commonwealth, without due diligence, to make a comment like that instead of voicing concerns about what many of us know is the biggest public safety threat in Massachusetts. Governor Baker needs to get on the right side of science, and the right side of history," Senator Wolf continued. The state senator did not release a follow-up response to Governor Baker's letter today.
Governor Baker closed his letter by asking Entergy to work closely with his administration to "make sure that we, and the residents of the Commonwealth, have access to the most up to date and accurate information about the corrective actions that will be taken to ensure the public's safety.
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- See more at: http://www.capecodtoday.com/article/2015/09/03/226045-Guv-pens-letter-Pilgrim-Nuclear-Plant-owners#sthash.EjEBJB2S.dpuf
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