Press Release  MassDEP Upholds Decision to Prevent Holtec from Dumping 1.1 Million Gallons of Pilgrim Wastewater into Cape Cod Bay

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) today has dismissed Holtec’s appeal and upheld the final determination to deny Holtec’s request to discharge wastewater into Cape Cod Bay.  

Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC, is managing the decommissioning of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, which stopped generating electricity in May 2019. As part of its decommissioning of the plant, Holtec requested that MassDEP modify Pilgrim’s state Surface Water Discharge Permit to authorize Holtec to discharge up to 1.1 million gallons of treated wastewater from the facility into Cape Cod Bay. MassDEP denied Holtec’s application on July 18, 2024, after holding a public hearing and public comment period, and conducting an extensive review of the more than 1,000 comments received. 

Cape Cod Bay is a protected ocean sanctuary under Massachusetts law. The Ocean Sanctuaries Act prohibits the “dumping or discharge of commercial, municipal, domestic or industrial wastes” into ocean sanctuaries. In consultation with the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, MassDEP determined that the water that Holtec proposes to discharge into Cape Cod Bay qualifies as industrial wastewater, and therefore, the proposed discharge is prohibited

Holtec appealed the July 18 decision on August 16, 2024, to the Office of Appeals and Dispute Resolution (OADR), an independent office within MassDEP. The OADR is responsible for resolving appeals of all MassDEP permitting and enforcement decisions. The OADR held three days of evidentiary hearings on Holtec’s appeal and issued a recommended decision to MassDEP’s Commissioner in November. After a comprehensive review, Commissioner Heiple announced her final decision affirming the Final Determination and dismissing this appeal. The Commissioner’s Final Decision can be appealed to the Superior Court. 

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