Mass AG Coakley: Go slow on Pilgrim plant renewal
BOSTON—Attorney General Martha Coakley has filed an appeal challenging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's decision to go ahead with hearings to grant a new 20-year license extension for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant
The appeal challenges the decision to continue the relicensing process for the Plymouth-based nuclear power plant before considering what Coakley said are lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan.
Coakley says she wants to guarantee the NRC considers the environmental and public safety implications of the Fukushima accident, while allowing a meaningful opportunity for public comment.
Coakley has said the environmental risks of Pilgrim, which is similar in design to the plants that failed at Fukushima, are greater than suggested in the renewal application.
The appeal was filed Thursday in the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
