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Indian Point lawsuit dead before arrival

A lawsuit seeking to halt the shutdown of a long controversial nuclear power plant located at Indian Point in Buchanan is dead on arrival after staunch opposition from Westchester County’s Democratic lawmakers.

Last week, the Board of Legislators’ Democratic caucus voted to kill the lawsuit, proposed by County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican, earlier this month, before it was even sent to committee, and well short of a vote by the full Legislature, which is required by law.

“Instead of engaging in a wasteful lawsuit where both sides are funded with taxpayer money, the best approach is to work with all of the affected communities on how to mitigate the economic, social, and environmental impacts of Indian Point closing,” said Democratic Majority Leader Catherine Borgia, of Ossining.

According to a spokesman for the board’s Democratic caucus, Joe Sgammato, an appeal by the Astorino administration has been ruled out in the process since the statute of limitations for an appeal runs out on May 9. Yet, the earliest the appeal lawsuit could be sent to committee for required legislative vetting is May 8, leaving no time for its referral to the full board for a vote.

The only recourse the administration may have, according to Sgammato, is a special meeting which would have to be called by Board of Legislators Chairman Michael Kaplowitz, a Yorktown Democrat.

Kaplowitz, however, has consistently voiced his opposition to the suit, telling the Review earlier this month, “This lawsuit is a Hail Mary that is being thrown with a deflated football and has no chance of scoring any touchdown.”

Astorino, on the other hand, has criticized the planned closure of the plant, claiming that it improperly avoids the State Environmental Quality Review Act, SEQR, accusing Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, of orchestrating its closure in secrecy.

As part of a deal struck between Cuomo and plant-owners Entergy earlier this year, Indian Point is set to be phased out of operation over the next four years.

While many county Democrats have lauded the deal as a win for the environment and public health—the plant, situated atop two fault lines, has been cited for 40 safety and operational “events” since 2012 alone—Republicans and other local community leaders have been quick to raise concerns over the economic impact of its decommissioning.

The village of Buchanan, where the plant is located, currently receives $3 million in tax breaks through payment in lieu of taxes, and Joseph Hochreiter, superintendent of the Hendrick Hudson school district, has said that the closure of the plant may jeopardize the district’s $14 million capital project plan.

Currently, the plant also employs 1,000 workers.

County Democrats say they plan to host community meetings with affected residents and stakeholders in Indian Point as a part of their own initiative.

To lessen the economic impact on workers at the plant, Cuomo has floated a potential transition into the renewable energy sector for workers laid off by the plant’s closure.

Details of what the decommissioning process will look like will continue to be hashed out by a recently formed task force, which consists of both state and local lawmakers as well as various officials from Cuomo’s administration.