COVERT TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — A public meeting was held Wednesday to hear the community’s input on whether the Palisades power plant should reopen.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission held the meeting, focusing heavily on emergency preparedness and the plant’s plan to operate safely in emergency situations.
“This is such an important opportunity for the NRC to communicate with the public,” NRC Co-Chair of the Palisades Restart Panel Jamie Pelton told News 8. “What we are doing to ensure that any potential restart is safe. We want to hear the public concerns, we want to answer questions and be transparent in what we are doing.”
The plant closed operations in May of 2022. Ever since, Holtec International has filed several requests for licensing which, if approved, would return the plant back to operational status. The environmental review and the public meeting are just part of the requirements.
“Emergency planning is one of our NRC requirements to ensure that if the plant is authorized to restart, it can only be done if it’s safe — and if the appropriate emergency plans and process are in place,” Pelton added.
The NRC was joined by representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to outline their emergency preparedness plans. The NRC is in charge of onsite regulation and FEMA is in charge of offsite management, both of whom requiring their own plan for emergency readiness.
“Any nuclear reactor, one of our requirements is to prepare for a disaster that will never happen or potentially never happen, but it’s part of their license requirements to have the plans in place in case something does happen,” Philip McKenna with the NRC told News 8.
FEMA representatives told News 8 their goal is to ensure that emergency plans outside of the plant are met, and that comes with working with local leaders and law enforcement to ensure everyone is aware of the plan and requirements.
“They have to establish an offsite emergency preparedness program, which means that the state and local governments put together the plans in preparedness that can demonstrate that they have the capability to respond to commercial nuclear power plant accidents,” Sean O’Leary with FEMA Region 5 told News 8.
The meeting brought out community members who both agreed and disagreed with the restart plans.
Bette Pierman is a Benton Harbor resident who said she is not in favor of the plant reopening.
“I’m not happy about being here, I’m tired of this after 20 years I am tired of this. The plant should be shut down for our safety, for the safety of the environment and for the protection of lake Michigan,” Pierman told News 8.
Members of the public can still continue to submit their feedback online and the NRC said it is planning to host another public meeting in the next few months.
