Duxbury Select Board Backs State Denial of Pilgrim Nuclear Wastewater Discharge

DUXBURY -- August 8, 2023, Duxbury Select Board voted to oppose Holtec's plan to discharge 1.1 million gallons of treated nuclear wastewater into Cape Cod Bay. The board approved a letter to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection backing the agency's tentative permit denial, which was grounded in the Ocean Sanctuaries Act. The board's letter also cited the Endangered Species Act and public health statutes as additional grounds for rejection. Holtec International, which is overseeing the decommissioning of Plymouth's Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant, has argued the water meets safe radioactivity standards and warned that blocking the discharge will delay decommissioning by several years. Mass DEP's tentative denial remains in a 30-day public comment period before a final determination is issued.