Indian Point to close by 2021 under deal

ALBANY — The controversial Indian Point nuclear power plant would close by 2021 under a pending agreement between plant owner Entergy Corp. and the state.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office on Friday suggested a deal is near to shut down the massive nuclear plant in Buchanan, Westchester County, which the governor and environmental activists have long sought to close, citing its location in the densely populated New York City suburbs.

The agreement — which is awaiting signatures from Cuomo's administration — calls for one of Indian Point's reactors to shut down by April 2020, with the second to follow a year later, according to a source with direct knowledge of the deal.

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Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, issued a statement Friday saying there "is no agreement," but hinted that one may be in the works.

"Governor Cuomo has been working on a possible agreement for 15 years and until it's done, it's not done," Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said. "Close only counts for horseshoes, not for nuclear plants."

Entergy, a New Orleans-based company, declined comment through a spokesman.

The New York Times, which first reported details of the agreement Friday, said the agreement could be signed by Cuomo's administration as soon as Monday.

Indian Point's closure would represent a dramatic change for energy production downstate and could force regulators and power producers to scramble to pick up the slack.

The plant, which first opened in the 1970s and employs about 1,000 workers, has a capacity of up to 2,000 megawatts — about 25 percent of the electricity used in New York City and Westchester, according to Entergy.

In 2012, the Business Council of Westchester, a business advocacy group of which Entergy is a member, commissioned a study to assess what the effect of a closure of the plant would mean to the region. The report said closing the plant could reduce reliability, increase electric rates by 6.3 percent or more and also increase carbon emissions through replacement energy generation.

John Ravitz, executive vice president of the council, said relicensing the plant has been a priority of the group.

“I don’t think we should lose sight of the fact that this is going to have an economic impact on the county as well with jobs and with the real commitment Entergy has made to the county,” he said.

Any closure could also have significant local tax impacts in Westchester.

Entergy has “payment in lieu of taxes” deals with Buchanan, the Hendrick Hudson school district, the city of Peekskill and Westchester County that were expected to amount to about $31 million in revenue for those government entities in 2015 and rise annually along with the state property tax cap.

Buchanan alone was set to receive about $2.6 million a year under a 10-year PILOT agreement, along with an annual $250,000 payment toward water and sewer system maintenance. The Hendrick Hudson PILOT represented nearly one-third of the district’s budget in that same year.

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican who ran against Cuomo in 2014, called a press conference at his White Plains office late Friday to criticize the governor for leaving the local communities in the dark about any negotiations.

“This is a complete surprise to us in the county, to the town of Cortlandt, to the school district, to the village of Buchanan and really everyone and anyone affected had no idea that these talks were underway or that this was going to happen,” Astorino said. “We’ve had no communication whatsoever from the governor’s office. That in and of itself is a major problem.”

Astorino said Buchanan received roughly 50 percent of its tax income from Entergy and the Indian Point property, Cortlandt receives $1 million a year and the county received $4.5 million per year through a PILOT agreement.

He called on the governor to meet with county and local officials to discuss the proposal.

Astorino also said he believes the plant's closure could drive local electric rates to the highest in the country.

Short-term extension?

Entergy had been seeking a renewal of its expired federal licenses to operate Indian Point's two nuclear reactors, which Cuomo's administration and state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman had opposed.

The company would likely need a short-term renewal of the licenses, which expired in 2013 and 2015, approved by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission in order to remain open into 2021.

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The pending agreement includes various state agencies and entities, Entergy, Westchester-based conservation group Riverkeeper and Schneiderman's office, which had filed several challenges to Indian Point with federal nuclear regulators.

The deal would see the state and Riverkeeper drop various safety claims and challenges against Entergy in exchange for the shutdown, according to the source with knowledge of the agreement. The state would drop its opposition to a renewal of Indian Point's licenses, as well.

Representatives for Riverkeeper did not immediately return requests for comment Friday.

The closure date for the reactors could be pushed back to 2024 and 2025 if both the state and Entergy agree, according to the Times.

In a statement Friday, Schneiderman all but confirmed the agreement, saying his office "has been fighting to address the serious risks posed by Indian Point."

"If we can shut-down Indian Point under an agreement that enhances public safety and kick-starts investment into safer and more reliable renewable energy sources, that will be a major victory for the millions of New Yorkers who live in the region," he said.

The Times said Entergy would have to set up an emergency operations center in Fishkill, Dutchess County, and create a $15 million fund for environmental protection.

Upstate bailout

Cuomo, a resident of New Castle, Westchester County, has long opposed the plant and expressed concern over the potential for an accident, citing the plant's densely populated location and proximity to New York City.

At the same time, Cuomo's administration has supported a ratepayer-backed bailout for three upstate nuclear power plants, pointing to the need to keep their emission-free power on the grid in order to reach the state's pollution-cutting goals.

Alex Beauchamp, regional director for the Food & Water Watch, suggested the policy is creating a double standard.

“Governor Cuomo is absolutely right that the dangerous Indian Point nuclear plant poses a grave threat to New Yorkers and must be shut down," he said in a statement.

"Amazingly, though, the governor is simultaneously pursuing a plan to waste billions of dollars on a corporate bailout to keep aging, unprofitable nuclear plants open upstate."

Michael Kaplowitz, a Democrat and chairman of the Westchester County Board of Legislators, has been in favor of decommissioning Indian Point since the days after Sept. 11, 2001.

“This looks like it’s going to be a net societal benefit to the region and to New York because of the specter of terrorism and the threats that are out there and given the geography of Indian Point being 25 miles north of Times Square ... but the devil is in the details,” he said Friday afternoon.

Kaplowitz said transitioning the plant to natural gas could be a possibility, but questioned whether residents and local officials would support that use of the site.

The news of Indian Point's potential closure comes days before Cuomo is scheduled to deliver six regional State of the State messages, including Tuesday at SUNY Purchase in Westchester.

It also comes weeks after the state Court of Appeals dealt Entergy a setback in its bid for a new license, interpreting state coastal water rules in a way that gave Cuomo's administration more authority over whether the plant could operate in the Hudson River.

In the hours following the court decision, Entergy had sounded a positive tone and said it would continue to seek new licenses.

"Notwithstanding today’s court decision, we continue to believe we will ultimately be successful in obtaining a (Coastal Zone Management) permit and re-licensing Indian Point," company spokesman Jerry Nappi said in late November.

Includes reporting by Mark Lungariello of The Journal News/lohud.com.