Indian Point 2 shut down over leaking water pipe

• Indian Point's Unit 2 previously was shut down for three months after inspector discovered damaged bolts

The Indian Point nuclear reactor that was shut down for three months after inspectors discovered hundreds of damaged bolts was taken offline again early Thursday so workers could fix a leaking pipe.

Indian Point’s owner, Entergy, said the leak of Hudson River water came from a pipe in a “non-radioactive system” and that it would not have an impact on safety at the Buchanan plant.

"There is no ongoing leak and there was no challenge to safety, however the plant needs to be shut down for weld repairs to be completed, in accordance with NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) regulations," Entergy said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a longtime opponent of Indian Point, said the leak was part of a pattern of "repeated and continuing problems" at the plant.

"In the last year alone, there has been unprecedented degradation of Indian Point Unit 2 baffle-former bolts, groundwater contamination, and increased NRC oversight at Unit 3 due to numerous unplanned shutdowns," Cuomo said in a statement. "This is yet another sign that the aging and wearing away of important components at the facility are having a direct and unacceptable impact on safety, and is further proof that the plant is not a reliable generation resource."

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Unit 2 – one of two functioning reactors at Indian Point – was taken out of service in March after NRC inspectors discovered some 278 damaged or cracked bolts during a refueling or “outage,” which takes place every two years.

The reactor was put back into service on June 16, over the objections of local lawmakers and environmental groups who urged the shutdown of a reactor they view as past its prime.

Indian Point officials defended the reactor’s safety record and said the three-month shutdown allowed the company to install an "unprecedented" extra layer of safety enhancements.

While the reactor is offline, Consolidated Edison will also test a breaker in a Con Ed switchyard located near Indian Point, "thus improving electrical reliability for the area,” said Brian Harmon, the vice president for system operation at Con Ed.

Unit 2 had been in operation for 627 days before the March shutdown, providing electricity to some 1 million homes in Westchester County and New York City. Its sister reactor, Unit 3, has been online for more than three months since its last refueling.

The anti-nuclear group, Friends of the Earth, recently lost a federal court challenge to the NRC’s decision to let Entergy restart Unit 2.

Manna Jo Greene, the environmental action director for Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, called on federal lawmakers to hold hearings to determine whether the reactor is safe.

"This eighth unplanned shutdown in a year, following the discovery of the worst-ever incidence of degraded bolts inside a reactor, indicates Indian Point is on a trajectory to disaster, with insufficient oversight by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission," Green said.

In calling for Indian Point's shutdown, Cuomo has cited the difficulty of evacuating residents living nearby in the event of a mishap. The governor has excluded Indian Point from a slate of financial incentives worth tens of millions of dollars that would help struggling upstate nuclear power plants remain open.

Entergy has promised to sue the state if the Public Service Commission prevents Indian Point from taking advantage of the financial credits while rewarding the upstate plants. The credits would recognize the nuclear power plants for their carbon-free emissions.

Cuomo wants nuclear power to act as a “bridge” to a point in the future when the state relies more on renewable sources like wind and solar for its electricity needs. Nuclear power provides some 30 percent of the state’s electricity.

The owners of two upstate reactors – one at Nine Mile Point in Oswego County, the other at the R.E. Ginna plant near Rochester – say they will shut the reactors down if the state doesn’t deliver on its promise of financial credits by September.