Entergy Seeks Meeting With FEMA...More Delays

So, who is going to file a 2.206 Petition with the NRC asking that the plant be closed until the siren issue is resolved? The Journal News has published and article today, wherein it is reported that Entergy wants a face to face with FEMA. I'm all for that, but feel any such meeting should be held in a PUBLIC FORUM. No more secrets, no more back room deals. Let's start with the simple fact, that the siren system that Entergy has spent $15 million dollars on DOES NOT MEET Design Basis Criteria.

http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070925/NEWS01/709250356

Indian Point seeks talks with FEMA on sirens

By GREG CLARY
THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: September 25, 2007)

BUCHANAN -Indian Point officials want a face-to-face meeting with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to make sure they know exactly what will satisfy regulators who so far have found the nuclear plant's new siren system "inadequate."

In a 12-page letter obtained by The Journal News, the company said it wants to go over in detail with FEMA officials the unresolved technical issues such as volume, sustainability of siren sound and overall system reliability.

Jim Steets, a spokesman for plant owner Entergy Nuclear, acknowledged yesterday that the in-depth, in-person discussions would further delay the new sirens' operation.

"It's impossible to know how long it will take us," Steets said. "We're committed to moving quickly, but only to FEMA's satisfaction."

Until then, the current system will remain in place to warn residents in Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and Orange counties that they need to seek information about a possible emergency.

The company's letter followed up on a promise that Entergy Nuclear's chief executive officer, Michael Kansler, made to the public less than two weeks ago to ensure the "highest expectations for performance." Kansler acknowledged that Entergy had "failed to meet a key communications goal - listening."

Entergy also asked to put together with FEMA officials a new schedule for completing the $15 million, trouble-plagued siren system, which has already missed three deadlines and cost the company $130,000 in fines.

FEMA officials didn't speak to the specifics of Entergy's letter yesterday, but a spokesman said the agency continues to seek a reliable system for the region's residents.

"FEMA has been and continues to work together with officials from both Entergy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ensure that the health and safety of the general public can be adequately protected if an emergency were to happen," Michael Widomski of the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA wrote to The Journal News via e-mail.

NRC officials said they would continue to monitor the progress of the siren installation, which FEMA oversees for the nuclear agency. There has been no change in the NRC's wait-and-see position regarding Entergy's latest missed deadline of Aug. 24.

Have Entergy Plumes Reached the Hudson River?

Entergy did their best to keep NEW maps of the underground plumes out of the public arena until after the original deadline for filing contentions in their License Renewal Application for Indian Point. Is this map submitted to the NRC with their well testing report proof that the radioactive waste streams at the site have almost reached the Hudson River...the suggested outlines of the plumb areas would indicate such. The citizens of Westchester County need to call for the release of the latest maps IMMEDIATELY so that we can have the truth about this important contaminant issue at the Indian Point plant.

FUSE USA Makes Headlines

FUSE USA filed its first set of contentions in opposition to the wrongful relicensing of Entergy's Indian Point IP2 nuclear reactor located in the town of Buchanan, New York this past Friday, September 21, 2007. The filing was picked up by Matt Wald of the New York Times.

September 24, 2007
Indian Point Faces New Challenge From Opponents

By MATTHEW L. WALD
WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 — An antinuclear group filed legal papers with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday evening opposing the relicensing of the Indian Point 2 nuclear reactor in Westchester County.
As a result, a panel of judges must consider the validity of the assertions — setting the stage for a long and contentious new chapter in the dispute over the plant and its companion, Indian Point 3.

There is already strong opposition to the relicensing of other nuclear power plants, including Oyster Creek in southern New Jersey and Vermont Yankee, which is on the Connecticut River just north of the Massachusetts border. Panels of three administrative law judges are studying those applications as well. Click here for rest of story.