Senator Markey Statement on Study of Impacts of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant’s Proposed Release of Radioactive Wastewater into Cape Cod Bay

Washington (December 10, 2024) Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chair of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety, released the following statement on the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) publication of a peer-reviewed study on the pathways and flow of radioactive wastewater proposed for release into Cape Cod Bay from the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (PNPS).

"This study is a major outcome for the communities surrounding Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, who have been questioning the effects of a proposed release of radioactive wastewater into Cape Cod Bay for years," said Senator Markey. "Now, we have a peer-reviewed study that finds Holtec's plans for discharge would bring wastewater towards communities along the Cape Cod shoreline. I am grateful to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for their continued commitment to conducting research that can be used to support the health and well-being of Massachusetts residents.

"When Holtec took over the decommissioning of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in 2019, the company promised this community an open and transparent decommissioning process-a promise Holtec's CEO repeated to me in a hearing I chaired in Plymouth in 2022," continued Senator Markey. "In the years since, Holtec has fallen woefully short on this commitment. In light of these recent findings, I urge Holtec to develop a wastewater discharge plan that is informed and guided by scientific fact and community input."

Since Holtec first announced its discharge plans in December 2021, Senator Markey has called for no unsafe discharge of the radioactive wastewater and lifted up community concerns. In May 2022, Senator Markey held a field hearing in Plymouth with Rep. William R. Keating (MA-09), "Issues Facing Communities with Decommissioning Nuclear Plants," where the lawmakers secured earlier commitments from Holtec that it would not discharge any effluent water into Cape Cod Bay from the plant without the consent of stakeholders. In January 2022, Senators Markey and Warren and Reps. Keating and Seth Moulton (MA-06) sent a letter to Holtec once again making clear their opposition to the operator's intent to discharge effluent water into the bay without regard for local concerns. In 2022, Senator Markey also secured commitments from Holtec to allow the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MADPH) and Environmental Protection (MADEP) to be present for the sampling of the wastewater and for the agencies to conduct split sample testing to verify the radiological and non-radiological pollutants in the waters, which was completed in 2023. In March 2023, Senator Markey sent a letter to Holtec urging Holtec to direct funds from Pilgrim's ratepayer funded decommissioning trust fund to fund a robust and independent scientific study on the potential environmental impacts of a wastewater discharge into Cape Cod Bay.

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