White Plains, NY — The following is a statement from Board Chair Ben Boykin; Majority Leader MaryJane Shimsky; Legislator Colin Smith, Chair of the Board’s Committee on Public Safety; Legislator Catherine Borgia, Chair of the Board’s Committee on Budget & Appropriations; Legislator Catherine Parker, Chair of the Board’s Committee on Planning, Economic Development & Energy; and Legislator Nancy Barr, Chair of the Board’s Committee on Environment & Health:

We are outraged by the findings of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Inspector General. The IG found serious irregularities in the NRC’s risk assessment in approving a 42-inch, high-pressure natural gas line crossing the Indian Point nuclear power plant property.

The Inspector General’s report raises profound concerns about the safety of that pipeline. It also raises issues about the integrity of the data and of the process the NRC relies on to assess risk. This calls into question not only safety at the site, but also the integrity of future risk evaluations by the NRC as the decommissioning of Indian Point moves forward.

Mischaracterizing analyses, claiming analyses had been conducted which hadn’t, using software for purposes it wasn’t designed for, and other irregularities and mistakes detailed in the IG report are unconscionable.

The irresponsible failure to consider, properly and adequately, the safety of nearly one million Westchester residents must be rectified.

Westchester residents need to know that Indian Point will be safe now, during, and after decommissioning. And residents need to know that the NRC will not be cooking the data it relies on, so that Westchester residents can feel safe and secure.

The Board of Legislators is exploring our options for action to ensure that the NRC takes the health, safety and security of the people of Westchester seriously.