October 3, 2024 - PLYMOUTH - Representative Dylan Fernandes and the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) announced yesterday that they filed a formal motion to intervene in Holtec International’s appeal to discharge 1.1 million gallons of treated nuclear wastewater into Cape Cod Bay.
“Dumping nuclear wastewater into Cape Cod Bay is an unacceptable threat to our environment and local economy,” said Rep. Fernandes. “Holtec cannot be allowed to dodge the costs of cleanup by running out the clock while their waste puts our community's economy at risk. I’m proud to stand with APCC and our coalition to protect the Bay and the people of the South Shore and Cape .”
Holtec’s 2023 permit application, which sought to release nuclear wastewater into Cape Cod Bay, sparked widespread opposition from business leaders, environmental advocates, and public officials who raised concerns about the damage such discharges could cause to the region’s ecosystem and economy. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection denied the permit, but Holtec has appealed the decision.
In response, Rep. Fernandes, APCC, and 17 others filed the motion on September 19, 2024, to become an intervenor in the case and to block the appeal.
“DEP was right in its application of the Ocean Sanctuaries Act,” said APCC Executive Director Andrew Gottlieb. “The permit denial reflected a plain English reading of the Act, which explicitly prohibits industrial discharges, as Holtec has proposed, into Cape Cod Bay and is not reliant on the issue of radioactivity. APCC’s intervention is intended to ensure that the DEP denial, based on the requirements of the Ocean Sanctuaries Act, is upheld.”
The coalition of intervenors, including the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, Cape Cod Fishermen’s Alliance, and several local officials and aquaculturists, represents a wide cross-section of stakeholders invested in the outcome of this case. Once the group’s motion to intervene is accepted, the coalition will actively participate in the appeal process.
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