When my father and my uncles were growing up on the shore of Cape Cod Bay, just a couple miles south of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant, they played witness to the construction of the power plant, and watched as the lush green coastline, which my father described to me as “paradise”, was turned into an industrial no-man’s land. 

Today thanks to Holtec, the company responsible for decommissioning the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant, we have begun dismantling this eye-sore, and hopefully, cleaning up the mess which my generation has inherited, and that future generations to come will also inherit. I am most thankful that the decommissioning of this plant has begun, and I appreciate Holtec’s expertise in ensuring this project is done in a responsible manner.

However, to my astonishment, it appears that Holtec is considering to dump 1.1 millions gallons of contaminated wastewater into Cape Cod Bay. There are of course several other alternatives to dumping the water into Cape Cod Bay (like trucking it to an offsite facility) but dumping the water into the bay is by far the cheapest option. 

On Monday January 23rd there was a meeting at Plymouth Town Hall of the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel (NDCAP), which advises the Governor and educates citizens across the state on activities related to the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station shut down.

To summarize the meeting, Holtec said they won't release the water until they receive a permit which allows them to do so. However, Holtec still wants to dump the water. During the meeting I heard many intelligent statements being made about what is legal and what is not legal. I also heard many intelligent statements being made about nuclear science, pollutants, and chemistry.

Nevertheless I feel the people from Holtec are missing the point. There is something here that is more important than the law. There is something here that is more important than the science. Though the proposed dumping is plainly illegal, and though the National Academy of Sciences concludes there is in fact no "safe" level of exposure to ionizing radiation (see the BEIR VII Report), the ultimate issue here is a moral one...

The people, the tens of thousands of residents of Plymouth and Cape Cod, and the million tourists who visit this area each year, have made it clear that we would prefer for this water to not be released into our beloved Cape Cod Bay. The wishes of people, the real human beings who live here in the shadow of the nuclear plant, ought to supersede all the science, the permits etc.

In fact, every Town on Cape Cod, every Town on Martha's Vineyard, as well as Duxbury, and Scituate, have either passed Town Meeting Articles or ballot questions opposing dumping. The Plymouth Select Board has been unanimous in its opposition. When we say the People are opposed, we are not simply opining on that matter; rather, the clear face of the electoral evidence demonstrates we are factually correct.

At the end of the meeting during the public comment session I was given an opportunity to say a few words. My full 4+ minute speech is titled "Holtec, Please Don't Dump Radioactive Water into Cape Cod" and is available on YouTube.

The people of Plymouth and Cape Cod have made it clear to Holtec that we do not want this water discharged into Cape Cod Bay. The wishes of people, the real human beings who live here in the shadow of the nuclear plant, ought to supersede all the science, the permits etc.

My goal in starting this petition is to kindly ask that Holtec CEO Krishna P. Singh retract his plan to dump the water into the bay. I am also kindly asking that he publicly announce that he will not dump the water into Cape Cod Bay, and instead truck it to another facility for disposal. I also ask that he please make this announcement before the the next NDCAP meeting on March 27th at 6:30pm at Plymouth Town Hall, 26 Court st, Plymouth.

Thank you to the local groups, newspapers, and other organizations that have been working to bring this issue to light. Let’s all continue spreading the word and keeping a close eye on this. I will keep you all updated with any updates I receive on my end.

Thank you for reading and for signing this petition. 

Tight lines! 

Ryan Collins

PS-This issue has also been covered extensively in the news. I would recommend reading this recent article from WBUR if you would like to learn more about what exactly is going on https://www.wbur.org/news/2022/12/08/epa-holtec-contaminated-wastewater-cape-cod-bay-clean-water-act

If you’d like to do a deeper dive into the issue, then I would recommend watching this video with Diane Turco of the Cape Cod Downwinders, filmed on January 11th at the Cape Cod Salties in Yarmouth.