Bill seeks to revamp Pilgrim nuclear advisory panel

By Christine Legere
Posted Oct 15, 2019

Representatives of plant owner would be replaced by Cape residents.

PLYMOUTH — State Sens. Julian Cyr and Viriato “Vinny” deMacedo are pushing to change the composition of the citizens advisory committee for the decommissioning of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in an effort to make the panel more effective.

The proposed legislative tweak filed by the pair would eliminate two slots on the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel currently reserved for representatives of the plant owner and add two slots for residents of Barnstable County.

The move would ensure representation from the Cape, while ridding the committee of a major obstacle to getting things done, according to Cyr.

“We have seen that this panel has not had all the tools or structure we had hoped for,” Cyr said at a press conference Tuesday. “What this is meant to do is restore the word ‘citizen’ into the panel’s work.”

In the filing, the senators declare the change in the advisory committee’s composition to be “an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public safety and health.”

The advisory panel, established by state legislation in 2016, has 21 members, including residents and local officials, representatives of state agencies and currently two representatives from Pilgrim’s new owner, Holtec International.

In addition to changing the makeup of the panel, the bill would make the representatives sent from various state agencies nonvoting members, since they usually abstain from committee votes.

The way the law is currently written, motions for recommendations from the advisory panel pass only if 11 members, a majority of the full committee, are in favor.

Current Chairman Sean Mullin, who has said the panel’s membership makes it impossible to get recommendations passed, called the proposed changes in the bill “critical.”

“A perfect illustration of the problem was a motion at our last meeting to recommend a site characterization at Pilgrim to get baseline knowledge of what needs to be done,” Mullin said.

The two representatives of Holtec International voted against the recommendation, Mullin said. Those representing the state administration abstained, as they usually do unless they have prior approval from their respective agencies.

There were not enough remaining citizen members on the committee for the motion to pass, Mullin said.

Mullin asked the state legislators to remedy the problem by tweaking the law.

“This is what they believed were the lessons learned from all the work they did, and what would allow for citizens to have a greater voice on this panel,” deMacedo said of the changes suggested by panel members.

Diane Turco, who is president of the Cape Downwinders and regularly attends monthly advisory panel meetings, said she supports the proposed changes.

“This is what needs to happen,” Turco said. “The makeup of the panel makes it impossible to get anywhere.”

Mary Lampert, director of a citizens group called Pilgrim Watch, provided written comments on the proposed legislation on behalf of the group.

Lampert supported elimination of the two plant representatives, saying, “The interests of those employed by Pilgrim and those not on its payroll are very different.”

In the statement, Lampert urged passage of the bill “so that the NDCAP can take votes required to effectively do its job.”

Under state law, the charge of the panel is to advise the governor, state officials, legislators and the public on issues related to Pilgrim’s decommissioning.

Pilgrim shut down permanently May 31. As new owner, Holtec International will oversee decommissioning.