A request to dump 1.1 million gallons of radioactive wastewater into Cape Cod Bay was rejected by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) Thursday, according to a Boston-based environmental group.
The wastewater would’ve come from the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, which was closed by an energy company called Holtec International in June 2019, and now is being taken apart, the organization, Community Action Works, said in a statement.
Since the company is required to dispose of any remaining nuclear waste, Holtec requested a permit to dump the wastewater into the bay, the advocacy group said.
Last July, state environmental regulators issued a tentative decision rejecting Holtec’s permit, finding that Cape Cod Bay is a protected ocean sanctuary under the state’s Ocean Sanctuaries Act, which prohibits dumping industrial waste into protected state waters.
The decision was then opened to public comment until August 31, 2023, where “Massachusetts residents and groups flooded the MassDEP with thousands of comments, a vast majority of them supporting the decision to deny Holtect’s permit,” Community Action Works said in its statement.
“Now, the decision is final…,” the group said, which ” “…signal[s] a major victory for the environmental and economic health of the Cape.”
Community Action Works, which is part of the Save Our Bay MA coalition, said the “decision will protect Cape Cod, Plymouth, Kingston and Duxbury Bays and surrounding communities.”
“MassDEP’s mission is to protect and enhance the Commonwealth’s natural resources- air, water and land- to provide for the health, safety and welfare of all people and to ensure a clean and safe environment for future generations,” the department said in a statement.
” In carrying out this mission, MassDEP commits to address and advance environmental justice and equity for all people of the Commonwealth; to provide meaningful, inclusive opportunities for people to participate in agency decisions that affect their lives; and to ensure a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve,” the agency said.
Holtec was not immediately available for comment before press time.
https://advancelocal.arcpublishing.com/composer/edit/J6UGKVWOK5GRTIEKTSFBFGNFXE/
