Massachusetts activists have announced plans to sue the owners of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station for allegedly polluting Cape Cod Bay.
The activists, represented by Ecolaw, have notified the Environmental Protection Agency of their intent to sue plant owner Entergy Corp. They alleged Pilgrim has damaged the local ecology by discharging chemical pollution and water heated far above allowed standards.
Meg Sheehan, an attorney at Ecolaw and a Plymouth native, said it’s time for the Environmental Protection Agency to play a bigger role in how the plant is operated.
“We are very adamant that the EPA should take action, review the permit, make sure things are up to current standards,” Sheehan said.
Activists are concerned about what Sheehan called an “outdated cooling water system that kills hundreds of thousands of fish, kills off plankton, and is extremely destructive to Cape Cod Bay.”
Ecolaw also intends to sue the state for allegedly allowing Entergy to damage the environment.
“[Pilgrim] generates a lot of hot water that is dumped into Cape Cod Bay. It’s been doing it for 40 years and it’s time for the state and federal government to step up and stop this pollution,” said Sheehan.
Pilgrim was relicensed this year after more than 6 years of review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
