It was January 2023 when On The Water’s Publisher Chris Megan and I first learned about a company’s plan to dump 1.1 million gallons of treated nuclear wastewater into Cape Cod Bay. After the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station closed in May 2019, Holtec International took ownership and assumed responsibility for decommissioning the plant. More than $1 billion in a decommissioning trust fund is available to cover the cost of decommissioning the reactor and decontaminating the site, which is scheduled to be completed by 2034.
Holtec initially sought permission to discharge up to 1.1 million gallons of treated wastewater from the plant into Cape Cod Bay, but through years of evaporation, approximately 790,000 gallons remain on site today.
Holtec’s initial proposal to treat and discharge the wastewater into Cape Cod Bay was denied by MassDEP in July 2024, which prompted the company to appeal the decision in August 2024. Holtec has argued that discharging the treated wastewater into the bay is a viable disposal option, while alternatives such as off-site disposal would involve additional costs and logistical challenges.
More than two years after Holtec appealed the decision, MassDEP Commissioner Bonnie Heiple dismissed the company’s appeal, upholding the agency’s denial of the proposed discharge into Cape Cod Bay. However, the decision can still be appealed to Massachusetts Superior Court.
Read the full press release from MassDEP below.
MassDEP Upholds Decision to Prevent Holtec from Dumping 1.1 Million Gallons of Pilgrim Wastewater into Cape Cod Bay
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) today has dismissed Holtec’s appeal and upheld the final determination to deny Holtec’s request to discharge wastewater into Cape Cod Bay.
Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC, is managing the decommissioning of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, which stopped generating electricity in May 2019. As part of its decommissioning of the plant, Holtec requested that MassDEP modify Pilgrim’s state Surface Water Discharge Permit to authorize Holtec to discharge up to 1.1 million gallons of treated wastewater from the facility into Cape Cod Bay. MassDEP denied Holtec’s application on July 18, 2024, after holding a public hearing and public comment period, and conducting an extensive review of the more than 1,000 comments received.
Cape Cod Bay is a protected ocean sanctuary under Massachusetts law. The Ocean Sanctuaries Act prohibits the “dumping or discharge of commercial, municipal, domestic or industrial wastes” into ocean sanctuaries. In consultation with the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, MassDEP determined that the water that Holtec proposes to discharge into Cape Cod Bay qualifies as industrial wastewater, and therefore, the proposed discharge is prohibited.
Holtec appealed the July 18 decision on August 16, 2024, to the Office of Appeals and Dispute Resolution (OADR), an independent office within MassDEP. The OADR is responsible for resolving appeals of all MassDEP permitting and enforcement decisions. The OADR held three days of evidentiary hearings on Holtec’s appeal and issued a recommended decision to MassDEP’s Commissioner in November. After a comprehensive review, Commissioner Heiple announced her final decision affirming the Final Determination and dismissing this appeal. The Commissioner’s Final Decision can be appealed to the Superior Court.