SAFE DECOMMISSIONING AND JUST TRANSITION:

Hudson River Sloop Clearwater and LoHud hosted a second forum – this one focused on the economic and job impacts of Indian Point plant closure and decommissioning — on November 3, 2017, entitled “When Indian Point Closes:  A Regional Forum on Workforce Transition” at the Desmond Fish Library, in Garrison, NY.   Watch the forum here: http://www.lohud.com

Now that Indian Point Units 2 and 3 are slated to close in 2020 and 2021, it’s time to turn our focus to ensuring economic and workforce development and the safest possible decommissioning of the reactors, fuel pools and related facilities.  This includes retaining workers with valuable institutional knowledge and technical skills, and retraining and placement in similar industries for those few who will not retire, but will no longer be needed at the plant.

The Forum featured experts on job and economic impacts of plant closure and decommissioning, including worker retention (how many of Indian Point’s workers not slated to retire can and should be retained during the decommissioning phase to make the plant safer, workforce development, worker retraining/placement for those who do lose their jobs, and the costs and risks to communities of managing stranded radioactive waste.  It also included updates from public officials responsible for working through these issues regarding Indian Point, as well as experts who have confronted them in other parts of the country (Oyster Creek in New Jersey, Vermont Yankee, Diablo Canyon in California, and Zion, Illinois) and can share their experiences of what worked and what didn’t.

Welcome and Background Information  –  Moderated by Gary Stern, Engagement Editor, LoHud

§  John Sipos, Attorney, NY State Public Service Commission:  Overview of Closure Agreement and Decommissioning Options
§  Kevin Kamps, Radioactive Waste Specialist, Beyond Nuclear:  4th Decommissioning Option:  Planned Decommissioning and Site Remediation:


Task Force Updates  –  Moderator: Nancy Cutler, Engagement Editor, LoHud

·   Mario Musolino, Executive Deputy Commissioner, New York State Department of Labor: NYS Indian Point Closure Task Force
·   Linda Puglisi, Supervisor, Town of Cortlandt: Cortlandt Community Unity Task Force

Workforce Development and Just Transition:  Current Status, Worker Retention, Training and Placement  –  Moderated by Swapna Venugopal  Ramaswamy, Engagement Editor, LoHud

·   Mario Musolino, Executive Deputy Commissioner, NY State Department of Labor:  Overview of Current Workforce Status:  number of employees, what can be done to help minimize the impact of Indian Point closure on plant workers.
§   Ross Gould, Energy Sector Program Manager, Workforce Development Institute:  Definitions of Workforce Development and Just Transition
· John Twomey, Workforce Consultant, John A. Twomey and Associates  was unable to attend, but provided his powerpoint:  Recent Trends, Evolving Practices and Sector Partnerships in Workforce Development

Case Studies  –  What is the experience in other reactor communities regarding worker retention and transition planning for closure?  Moderated by Nancy Cutler, Engagement Editor, LoHud

·   Damon Moglen, Senior Strategic Advisory, Friends of the Earth: Diablo Canyon, CA
·   David Kraft, Executive Director, Nuclear Energy Information Services (NEUS):  Zion, IL.
§  Chris Williams, Citizens Awareness Network (CAN): Vermont Yankee
§  Mike Dulong, Staff Attorney, Riverkeeper:  Comparison of Indian Point and Oyster Creek, NJ

Wrap Up, Next Steps and Closing Remarks:  Gary Stern, Engagement Editor, LoHud and Manna Jo Greene, Environmental Director, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater