County Executive Announces Law Suit to Stop Closing of Indian Point Nuclear Plant | WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER 3,374,995 VISITS IN ONE YEAR---65,000 VISITS A WEEK BY 985,281 VISITORS

WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From the Westchester County Department of Communications. April 5, 2017, UPDATED APRIL 6, 2017:

Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino today set in motion a lawsuit to stop or delay the closure of Indian Point, arguing that Governor Cuomo’s secret deal with Entergy and Riverkeeper to close the nuclear power plant cannot move forward because the state did not complete a full environmental review prior to the agreement to shut the facility, as required by state law.

PETER KATZ OF WHITE PLAINS WEEK PERSONALLY COVERED THE NEWS CONFERENCE AND HAS POSTED THIS REPORT ON YOUTUBE–GO TO THIS LINK FOR PETER’S REPORT

https://youtu.be/x2UmeaKz4jg

Allowing the state to move forward on its plan to close Indian Point without first conducting a full environmental analysis that is subject to public review undermines the basic environmental protections in our laws. Among the unanswered questions that should have been discussed in public before the secret deal was inked are:

Where will the more than $4.5 billion come from that will be needed to decommission the plant and store nuclear fuels rods for at least six decades? And what are the guarantees that the answer won’t be the taxpayers of New York?
How will the $31 million in lost local revenues ($23 million from the Hendrick Hudson School District, $4 million from Westchester County, $3 million from the Village of Buchanan and $1 million from the Town of Cortlandt) from the closure of Indian Point be replaced?
Where will the energy come from to replace the 2,000 megawatts currently generated by Indian Point that produces 25 percent of the electricity used daily by 9 million New York City and Westchester County residents?
How much will the replacement energy cost and will it be “green”? New York already is second only to Hawaii as the state with the most expensive electricity costs. Nuclear power produces no carbon emissions.

The Westchester County Board of Legislators needs to approve the lawsuit by its May 8^th meeting so the county can file the lawsuit in Westchester County Supreme Court.