COURTESY PILGRIM NUCLEAR POWER STATION
PLYMOUTH – Governor Charlie Baker vetoed the creation of a special commission that would have studied the economic and environmental effects of decommissioning the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station.
Baker explained his decision in a written statement when he signed off on a recently passed $3.76 billion spending bill.
“I am vetoing this section as the commission’s work would be duplicative of, and would interfere with, ongoing work on waste disposal and decommissioning issues by the responsible federal and state agencies,” he said.
Plymouth/Barnstable State Senator Susan Moran had led efforts to have the commission be part of the bill.
Moran said the group would have compiled a report on their findings and held a series of public hearings.
“I was disappointed to see Gov. Baker choose the path of less oversight when it comes to the safety of our bay, especially in the face of universal appreciation of transparency in nuclear decommissioning,” Moran said to Wicked Local.
Moran said she plans on refiling legislation to create the commission.
Holtec International, the company overseeing the plant’s decommissioning process, has said one of the options for getting rid of one million gallons of radioactive wastewater from the facility would be dumping it into Cape Cod Bay.
Officials with the company said a decision on how to dispose of the water would wait until next year.
By Brian Engles, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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