MassDEP denies plan to dump nuclear wastewater into Cape Cod Bay

Authorities rejected a company’s controversial request to dump up to 1.1 million gallons of wastewater from a decommissioned nuclear power plant into Cape Cod Bay. 

Holtec Decommissioning International LLC is in charge of safely cleaning up the former Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. They requested a modification to a permit that would allow them to dump the wastewater into the Cape Cod Bay.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) rejected the modification, they said in a statement on Thursday. 

Pilgrim, located in Plymouth, was decommissioned in 2019. When Holtec proposed dumping water that circulated through the plant’s nuclear reactor into the Cape Cod Bay, MassDEP consulted the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management. The two organizations determined that the Cape Cod Bay is a “protected ocean sanctuary” under the statewide Ocean Sanctuaries Act.

“The Ocean Sanctuaries Act prohibits the ‘dumping or discharge of commercial, municipal, domestic or industrial wastes’ into ocean sanctuaries. The water that Holtec proposes to discharge qualifies as industrial wastewater, and therefore, the proposed discharge is prohibited,” the statement said. 

Holtec insists that the water is safe.

“Treated water has been discharged within safe limits since the plant began operations in 1972 and today’s denial will continue to delay the decommissioning and economic reuse of the Pilgrim lands. We will continue to evaluate all disposal options for the treated wastewater and the effect this decision has on our timeline to fully decommission the facility,” the company said in a statement to The Boston Globe. 

MassDEP said they made their decision based on public comments and a forum. They said they received over 1,000 comments about Holtec’s proposal.