Murphy to Propose Delaying Close of Indian Point
State Senator Terrence Murphy (R/Yorktown) is planning to propose delaying the closing of the Indian Point nuclear power plants in Buchanan until at least 2030.
During an interview in his district office in Jefferson Valley Thursday, Murphy revealed at the next New York State Indian Point Closure Task Force meeting he would making that suggestion since no concrete plan has been established on how to replace the lost energy or how entities affected by the loss of revenue from the plants will survive.
“I don’t believe they have a plan,” said Murphy, who kicked off his reelection campaign Thursday evening (see story page 4). “There should have been a plan, so the area isn’t going to be mothballed. If this involves getting the federal government involved, so be it.”
It was announced in January 2017 that the Indian Point nuclear power plants, which have been a fixture in Buchanan for more than 50 years and help provide electricity to several million homes and businesses in Westchester and the five boroughs of New York City, will close in 2021.
The announcement stunned local officials since Entergy, which purchased the controversial plants 15 years ago, invested $1.3 billion in safety improvements and has been seeking a 20-year license renewal from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission since 2007 to continue operating the facility.
An agreement to shut down the plants was worked out between Entergy, several New York State offices and agencies and Riverkeeper. Under the pact, Indian Point Unit 2 will cease operations as early as April 2020 and Unit 3 in April 2021. However, an emergency provision is included that could give Entergy an additional four years of service in the event of war, a sudden increase in electrical demand or a sudden shortage of electric energy.
“You just don’t go in and decimate an entire school district and an entire village,” Murphy said of Hendrick Hudson and Buchanan, both of which have relied heavily on income from the plants. “That’s not right. This shouldn’t be about politics. Governor Cuomo wanted to close it for years. It was very disappointing that there was no collaboration in the community.”
Since the announcement, a local task force has been meeting regularly, brainstorming for ways to replace the lost revenue and reuse the more than 200-acre property.
A few weeks ago, Murphy disclosed $24 million had been added in the recently approved state budget in a specially designated fund that could be tapped into as early as 2022 if Indian Point shuts down as planned. However, collectively, $32 million will disappear annually once the plants stop operating.
The Village of Buchanan stands to lose 46% ($4 million) of its operating budget, while the Hendrick Hudson School District will lose $24 million annually (33% of its budget). Others affected are: Cortlandt ($800,000), Westchester County ($1 million), Hendrick Hudson Free Library ($394,110, 28% of its budget) and the Verplanck Fire District ($372,703, 64% of its budget).
Murphy said he would have voted against the budget if money wasn’t set aside in the cessation fund as Cuomo has proposed in his spending plan.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
