Moran Reinforces Citizen Oversight in Plymouth Plant Decommissioning

State Senator Susan Moran (D-Falmouth)

PLYMOUTH – Plymouth/Barnstable State Senator Susan Moran (D-Falmouth) has introduced an amendment to the senate budget that she said would improve voting power for citizen members of the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel.

The group is involved in the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant decommissioning.

The amendment would allow ratification of decisions by a majority vote of Panel members present at any given meeting, rather than a majority vote of total Panel members.

According to Moran, the amendment would improve citizen oversight by preventing ex-officio members of the Panel from abstaining from voting on any motions that have been opposed by the owners of the Pilgrim Station, causing failing of citizen motions.

Moran said that this change is endorsed by both the citizen members of the NDCAP and corresponds to the original intent of its creation of the Panel.

 “The suppression of motions by the citizen members of the NDCAP has ironically ensure that the owners of the Pilgrim Nuclear Station have been able to effectively limit the oversight that the citizen body can perform,” said Moran in a statement.

“By reforming the voting system of the NDCAP, citizen oversight and the public interest can be reasserted in the ongoing decommissioning process. The health and safety of the residents of Plymouth is the most important priority in the decommissioning process and restoring power to the NDCAP ensures that all dimensions of those issues are addressed.”

The change will also supplement an agreement reached between the Attorney General’s office and Holtec International which established standards for the removal of dangerous substances and implemented oversight by the Departments of Environmental Protection and Public Health.

The decommissioning process has been active since May 31, 2019 and is expected to be completed in the year 2027.

About Grady Culhane

Grady Culhane is a Cape Cod native from Eastham. He studied media communications at Cape Cod Community College and joined the CapeCod.com News Center in 2019.



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