Middleboro Review et al

Proposed NRC rule changes raise safety concerns By  Christine Legere Posted May 23, 2018  Revisions aimed at curbing exemptions sought after reactor shutdowns. PLYMOUTH — A U.S. senator who has been a longtime critic of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s oversight of the nation’s 99 nuclear power reactors is calling the latest report on the agency’s proposed rule changes for reactor decommissioning “an industry wish list that makes exemptions the rule.” The rule changes are particularly significant to the residents Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., represents, as the state’s only nuclear reactor, Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, is set to permanently shut down by May 31, 2019. Pilgrim’s coastal location makes it particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The rules contain no new requirements for considering environmental impacts, Markey said. “This is a missed opportunity to put down a marker for smarter decommissioning,” Markey said in...

CLARK on PELOSI, flipping the House — GONZALEZ files signatures — DEVAL on ‘conscious capitalism’ 05/02/2018 07:14 AM EDT By Lauren Dezenski  ( ldezenski@politico.com ; @LaurenDezenski) with Brent D. Griffiths ( bgriffiths@politico.com ; @BrentGriffiths) GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.  Hope you're ready to hit the mid-80s in Boston today! KATHERINE CLARK ON PELOSI AND HER OWN HIGHER ASPIRATIONS -  Rep.  Katherine Clark  not only represents the Massachusetts 5th district but also co-chairs the DCCC's Red to Blue initiative charged with flipping red seats around the country into the hands of Democrats. In an interview with me from a coffee shop in Melrose yesterday, Clark had some interesting things to say... First - She's not 100 percent behind Nancy Pelosi's return to the speakership . Clark may have been behind a Pelosi fundraiser in Boston on Monday - Clark tells me the  fundraiser at the Liberty Hotel  raised $1 million - but she's no...

Plymouth nuclear plant offline again By  Sean Philip Cotter   The Patriot Ledger  Posted Apr 30, 2018 PLYMOUTH — The Pilgrim nuclear power plant is back offline after just eight days of generating power. Plant workers powered it down after they found a potential issue with the one of the two feedwater regulation valves, said Entergy Corp. spokesman Patrick O’Brien. Entergy owns the 46-year-old Manomet plant that was built by the former Boston Edison Co. Those valves are used to control the amount of water that comes to the reactor. Entergy doesn’t announce ahead of time when the plant will reconnect to the grid because that is proprietary information, O’Brien said. The plant only had been online for eight days after spending 43 days offline amid a series of storms and mechanical problems. The station was initially powered down on March 6 so crews could repair a small leak in a feedwater heating system and then kept offline as a precaution dur...

Lawmakers, advisory panel plot Pilgrim’s future By  Christine Legere   Posted Apr 11, 2018 WEST BARNSTABLE — While there have been different perspectives among the public on the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station over the last 45 years, priorities are now aligning as the beleaguered plant progresses toward its announced permanent closure on June 1, 2019. That was the message delivered by the region’s senators and representatives during a meeting of the Pilgrim Nuclear Decommissioning Advisory Panel at Cape Cod Community College on Wednesday night. “We’re entering a really critical phase: the safe, swift decommissioning of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station,” state Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro, said to the panel. Whether you are a plant opponent or plant employee, everyone sees safety as a top priority once the reactor shuts down, Cyr said. Wednesday was kind of a wrapup of the advisory panel’s first year of information gathering. Meeting time was dedicated to...