Chapter forms Indian Point task force

The Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter has formed a new task force on Indian Point. If you are interested in joining the task force or want to be kept informed by being added to the groupʼs e-mail list, contact Interim Chair Allegra Dengler at allegrad@aol.com. 

A recent series of articles by the Associated Press reports that the NRC is re-licensing 40-year-old plants that are plagued with safety issues related to aging. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called for the closure of Indian Point, but many New Yorkers are also concerned about nuclear in upstate communities as well. 

In a recent meeting with the Governorʼs Office and the Attorney Generalʼs Office, six organizations raised concerns about the safety of upstate nuclear plants, including three aging reactors in Oswego County that have been plagued with problems but have been re-licensed for 20 more years. Two of the three are the Mark I design, the same design as those at Fukushima, which melted down, reports Linda DeStefano, who represented the Iroquois Group at the meeting. Roger Downs, the chapterʼs conservation program manager, joined the discussion with Tom Congdon of the Governorʼs Office. 

Others represented at the meetings were Citizens Awareness Network, Citizens Environmental Coalition, NYPIRG, Don't Waste NY, and Peace Action of CNY. 

Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter is a founding member of the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition, which held a workshop earlier this month at Stony Point. For information, call 888-474–8848 or visit http://www.ipsecinfo.org/.