‘Not admissible’: Request for formal hearing challenging Palisades re-opening denied

COVERT TWP. — A request to hold a full hearing on petitions that challenge plans to restart Palisades Nuclear Power Plant has been denied by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.

Petitions from two groups were discussed during pre-oral arguments Feb. 12 — one from the “Joint Petitioners,” a group of nine individuals living near Palisades, and one from the “Petitioning Organizations,” five environmental groups opposing the restart.    

The Petitioning Organizations include Beyond Nuclear, Don’t Waste Michigan, Michigan Safe Energy Future, the Nuclear Energy Information Service of Chicago and Three Mile Island Alert of Pennsylvania.

More: ‘Cobbled together’: Environmental groups, residents hope for hearing on Palisades restart

During pre-oral arguments, Alan Blind, on behalf of the Joint Petitioners, said the NRC should require a new Final Safety Analysis Report — which outlines safety features, risk assessments and emergency preparedness — before the plant can restart, rather than relying on the original FSAR for Palisades.

Wallace Taylor, representing the Petitioning Organizations, said there is no existing regulatory path for a restart and that Holtec “with the complicity of the NRC, has cobbled together a plan” that relies on exemptions to existing regulations.

Representatives from Holtec and the NRC both argued the contentions made by petitioners weren’t admissible.  

“They either challenge the existing regulatory framework or raise matters outside the scope of the proceeding, or otherwise fail to demonstrate a material dispute with the application,” said Michael Spencer of the NRC.

Holtec hopes to resume operations at Palisades, which closed for decommissioning in May 2022, by the fourth quarter of 2025, but the plant still needs to secure licensing from the NRC. 

The company also plans to file a construction permit application in 2026 for a pair of small modular reactors, significantly increasing on-site production.

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In the decision made March 31, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board found the Joint Petitioners and Petitioning Organizations “have demonstrated standing to intervene, but their proposed contentions are not admissible.” The board didn’t terminate the proceeding, so the groups can appeal.

In a press release issued April 4, the Petitioning Organizations stated their intention to do so.

“We also plan to litigate against Holtec’s proposed Band-Aid fixes for Palisades’ dangerously degraded steam generator tubes, a self-inflicted wound due to two years of neglected maintenance,” said coalition co-counsel Wally Taylor of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

— Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@hollandsentinel.com.