An official with Entergy said that its decision to close Oswego County's James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant last October is negatively affecting the way state lawmakers view its Indian Point nuclear facility.
Indian Point, which is 24 miles outside of New York City, has been in the spotlight this week for an accidental leak of a chemical called tritium into the groundwater near the plant. While answering questions about the incident on public radio program "The Capitol Pressroom" Tuesday, Entergy's vice president of external affairs Mike Twomey told host Susan Arbetter the state's treatment of Indian Point has changed.
"I would say that we have certainly seen an increase in scrutiny of Indian Point since we made the decision to close Fitzpatrick-" Twomey said.
"And you're linking those two things: the increased scrutiny and the decision to close Fitzpatrick?" Arbetter asked.
"I would say just as a matter of observation, there has been an increased scrutiny just in the last several months," Twomey replied.
Entergy has said it isn't economically viable to keep Fitzpatrick open. It expects to lose about $60 million annually on the plant because of competition from cheap natural gas. Meanwhile, the company is trying to get Indian Point's application for a new license approved even though Gov. Andrew Cuomo is calling for its closure.
