Nuclear regulator promises thorough safety review for Palisades restart
Grant SchwabWashington — The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission assured residents from southwest Michigan on Wednesday that the Palisades nuclear plant restart will not occur unless it meets all safety standards.
The Department of Energy last month announced it was loaning Holtec, the owner of the shuttered plant, $1.5 billion to help fund the company's bid to reopen the facility.
“The NRC is not involved with that money. We're involved to inspect it. If it takes 1,000 hours to do something, the restart panel is going to recommend that,” said Jack Geissner, the NRC regional administrator for the Upper Midwest.
Geissner and other NRC officials delivered remarks and answered audience questions during a public discussion at Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor.
The discussion was the first of many planned near the plant as the NRC — with the backing of federal, state and local lawmakers — tries to safely steward the first recommissioning of a nuclear plant in U.S. history. Wednesday was a window into how the panel will manage a mix of vocal support and ardent opposition from the public likely to continue throughout their task.
“I feel like I’m watching the bridge of the Titanic up here,” said Jim Zerbi, a Paw Paw resident and opponent of the project.
“I don't believe I'm on the Titanic,” Geissner responded.
He added: “I can sleep well at night, as the administrator in the Midwest, to say that all the plants that I'm responsible for are safe. And if we find out that they're not operating safe, I'll make sure that actions are taken to shut the plant down. Period.”
The meeting was orderly, though Geissner on a few occasions staunchly defended his and the NRC’s safety record, as he did in that instance.
Several dozen members of the public attended the meeting in person, and about 200 attended online.
The meeting began with remarks from members of the Palisades Nuclear Plant Restart Panel, a board of regulatory officials established in November to coordinate the process.
Holtec will convene regularly with the panel to explain how it is working to safely bring the plant back online, meet regulatory requirements and make any necessary upgrades.
The NRC did not provide updates to the timeline for approving operations at the plant, which could take place by the end of 2025. But one official did note that decommissioning of the plant, which never fully finished under previous owner Entergy, could still occur within 10 years if Holtec is unable to win operating approval.
Valerie Myers, an NRC physicist and inspector, also added that Holtec, if the plant does restart, will need to show the NRC it has sufficient funds to complete any future decommissioning.
More:Palisades nuclear plant gets $1.5B federal loan in bid to reopen, a national first
Members of the public who spoke during the meeting were split between supporting and opposing the project.
“It is my belief that this is safe, reliable energy. I'm glad to see that this plan is opening back up, and they have my full on support,” said Dylan Burnette, a maintenance contractor and member of the Laborers Local 355 union.
“I am a resident of Hagar Shores, and I am not about to move my family out of there,” he added, signaling his confidence in the plant’s safety.
Shawn Connors, who identified himself as a retired Kalamazoo business owner, spoke in favor of the plant. “Climate change and energy scarcity could make nuclear energy the bipartisan issue of our time,” he said.
Other speakers supporting the project included local elected officials, like Covert Township Supervisor Daywi Cook and Hagar Township Trustee Peter Colovos, and representatives from local economic development groups.
They cheered the reopening project as an economic boon and environmental win, touting nuclear power as a zero-emission energy source.
Look back:Nuclear waste storage clouds future of Michigan's Palisades Power Plant (2021)
Detractors voiced concerns that Holtec, which has never operated a nuclear plant before, would be able to safely and effectively run Palisades.
Others raised issues about safety and maintenance issues from the plant’s past operators, the longstanding issue of storing nuclear waste from the plant and even Palisades’ susceptibility to extreme weather events made more likely by climate change, as detailed in a recent Government Accountability Office report.
Mike King, an NRC official who oversees reactor safety programs, thanked the attendees and said the agency would remain committed to answering questions from the public.
“We'll be coming back on average roughly once a quarter or so,” he said. “I just want to let you know that this is not the end of the conversation.”
@GrantSchwab