Fossil-Fuel Bias in Indian Point Water Permit Debate?

John Wheeler at This Week in Nuclear keeps hitting hard against New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation:

In my further research on this topic I discovered a damming piece of evidence that proves NY State is giving preferential treatment to fossil fuels while at the same time imposing unfair regulations on neighboring nuclear energy facilities, the largest competitors to fossil fuels.

Stop by for the whole story.

Comments

Anonymous said…

Would it be possible to sue in court under the "equal protection" clause of the constitution? Treating parties differently under the law is illegal. This seems to be a clear case of that.

Jim Hopf

June 1, 2010 at 1:16 PM

Jason Ribeiro said…

The compromise screen solution that John Wheeler proposed is the best environmental solution from almost any angle. Closing the plant down will cause more fish to be harmed because more gas and other less environmentally friendly solutions would have to replace Indian Point. Building cooling towers would divert power production to thermal fossil solutions in the interim and again, create a greater thermal signature than if Indian Point were allowed to run as is. The screen solution will add a margin of improvement to the plant's already very low environmental footprint at a reasonable cost - it's a win-win for everyone to go this route.

June 4, 2010 at 1:40 AM

Marilyn Elie said…

DEC has required closed cycle cooling NOT cooling towers. Cheaper radiator style systems are commo
n in the industry. Wedge wire has not been used in fast moving rivers like the Hudson and was rejected at Oyster Creek as ineffective. It does nothing to prevent thermal pollution that is so deadly to the river Eco system.

July 18, 2010 at 11:44 PM

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