April 2014
In This Issue...
Our Members

First Parish UU Church, 
Social Justice & 
Action Committees:




Recent Videos with PC
PC panel presents information for those wanting to learn and get involved  (April 2)
On April 2nd, the Pilgrim Coalition held an educational forum at the Duxbury Senior Center. For those of you who couldn't attend but would like to see the presentations from that evening, you can watch them here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mix1VP4HJ-g

PC members discuss problems at Pilgrim on Marshfield's Talk of the Town  (March 20)
Watch Pine duBois, Meg Sheehan and Anna Baker on Talk of the Town TV (filmed in Marshfield) speaking about Pilgrim's risks to our communities:
http://vimeo.com/90686252
A Hero Has Fallen 
Richard Wedgewood Bramhall, Jr.
of Plymouth died on April 5th

Wedge Bramhall of Plymouth, a true activist for our cause, passed away on April 5th. Wedge was one of the people who inspired many of us to fight the big fight. When many people were convinced the money from nuclear interests will outweigh the voices of the citizens, Wedge stood up and spoke out. He's taught us that the voice of a local resident can be much more persuasive than the power of a company. The Pilgrim Coalition salutes Wedge and will continue the good fight to protect our communities.
Notable Upcoming Events
4/22:  Present and Future of Renewable Energy in MA in the Context of Climate Change (An Earth Day Event)
Tuesday, April 22, 2014  \  7 pm
Druker Auditorium @ Newton Free Library
330 Homer St, Newton, MA 

 

Join us for a presentation by two leaders who help shape the future of renewable energy in Massachusetts. Ann Berwick, Chair of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, will talk about why we need to decarbonize the economy and how we can do it. Larry Chretien, Executive Director, Mass Energy Consumers Alliance, will address the topic of renewable energy in Massachusetts: where we are now, and what the prospects are for growth. After Ann and Larry's presentations, Green Decade's Jay Walter will speak briefly about Solarize Newton. Then the speakers will answer your questions.

 

For more information, visit:  

http://greendecade.org/events.html#ess2

4/24:  NRC Presents: Dry Cask Storage of Nuclear Fuel at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant (Webinar)

Thursday, April 24, 2014  \  1 - 3:30 pm

This NRC program will be available as a webinar, or you can attend a simulcast at: Bourne Community Center (239 Main St, Buzzards Bay, MA), or Harwich Community Center (100 Oak St, Harwich, MA)

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will present a webinar on Thursday, April 24, 2014 regarding the planned dry cask storage of spent nuclear fuel at the Pilgrim nuclear power plant. The purpose of the webinar is to provide key factual information about how dry cask storage works and how the NRC regulates its use through on-site inspections and other reviews. The webinar will begin at 1 p.m. Participants will be able to view slides prepared by NRC staff and ask questions. Online registration is required to take part.

Pilgrim is located in Plymouth, Mass. It is owned and operated by Entergy. Work is currently underway on the concrete pad that will hold dry cask storage units, with plans to move loaded casks to the pad sometime in the summer of 2014.

 

TO REGISTER: To attend the training online, follow the registration procedures below. To register for either the Bourne or Harwich Location, Please email Sean O'Brien at [email protected] please provide your name, agency and at which location you will be attending.

Who should attend: This training has been targeted to Public Safety Officials, Public Health Officials, Emergency Managers, Elected Officials, Members of Local and Regional Emergency Planning Committees.

Sponsored by: Representative David Vieira (Third Barnstable District, MA House of Representatives), the Town of Bourne Office of Emergency Management, the Town of Harwich Office of Emergency Management, and the Barnstable County Regional Emergency Planning Committee.

5/3:  PC Tabling at Wake Up the Earth Festival
Saturday, May 3, 2014  \  12 pm Noon
Southwest Corridor Park, Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA

 

Join us! This is a 35 year old family oriented community tradition which draws over 15,000 people and is produced by a grassroots community group called: Spontaneous Celebrations. The festival is currently attended by well over 10,000 individuals of all ages and features 4 stages including the music and dance performances, Popular Theatre, the Youth Stage, and Story Telling for All Ages. In addition to performances, WUTE features over 50 craft, non-profit, and food vendors; recent festivals have also included an enchanted puppet forest, side shows, live bands, dancers, acoustic performers and a giant pageant. A great many individuals, local artists, community groups, and schools join forces every year to create this unique community collaboration.

The Wake Up The Earth Festival starts at noon (12pm). There will be a parade at 11am, which starts at Curtis Hall (Centre and South St. in JP) and follows Centre St. to Lamartine St. to Boylston St. where it arrives at 12 noon. Raindate is Sunday, May 4th.

For more information, check out:
http://www.spontaneouscelebrations.org/festivals-events
Entergy has applied to eliminate offsite emergency planning at Vermont Yankee - a preview of what will happen here?
Pilgrim Coalition, in conjunction with Pilgrim Watch, the Town of Duxbury Nuclear Advisory Committee and the Cape Downwinders support maintaining offsite radiological emergency planning, with all offsite costs borne by the licensee, so long as fuel remains onsite at a nuclear power plant.

The citizens of Duxbury voted unanimously at the March 2014 Annual Town Meeting in support of the same. The Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) conclusions regarding circumstances that licensees undergoing decommissioning can be exempted from offsite emergency planning are erroneous.  Offsite emergency planning must be, without exception, required due to the risks posed by both high-density, closed- frame spent fuel pool storage and, to a lesser but not insignificant degree, dry cask storage.  The ISG's real goal has nothing to do with public health and safety but everything to do with protecting the licensee's wallet.

As the Brattleboro Reformer reports, "Sixteen months after shutdown of the reactor at Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, offsite emergency planning will no longer be needed, according to documents filed by Entergy with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission."

To read the full Brattleboro Reformer article about Vermont's current scenario, visit: http://www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_25525362/vy-emergency-planning-zone-be-eliminated
River herring: illegal to take...for most of us.
By Alex Mansfield, Jones River Watershed Association
"The moratorium on river herring take is strictly enforced when it comes to citizens. Under Massachusetts law, "Whoever takes, kills or hauls onshore or disturbs, injures, hinders or obstructs the passage of any herring, alewives or other swimming marine food fish in a fishery created by a city or town, without its permission, contrary to its regulations, shall be punished by a fine of fifty dollars" (MGL Chapter 130 section 95). And keep in mind that $50 is per fish. So a recreational fisherman who grabs a bucket of herring to use for bait could see fines of hundreds of dollars.

Despite the historically low population levels and regulatory efforts to protect the species, Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant continues to impinge and kill large numbers of river herring on the screen of their cooling water intake structure. Based on annual extrapolated totals, Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station impinges an average of 2,481 river herring per year and have been known to impinge as many as 41,128 river herring in a single year. These excessively high impingement rates have been occurring for decades."

To read the full article, visit: http://plymouth.wickedlocal.com/article/20140403/OPINION/304039998/12455/OPINION
World Needs to Get Ready for the Next Nuclear Plant Accident     By Yuriy Humber, Bloomberg News, April 4, 2014
Pilgrim could be next. Let's make sure it is not.

Three major atomic accidents in 35 years are forcing the world's nuclear industry to stop imagining it can prevent more catastrophes and to focus instead on how to contain them.

"We have this accident and people will say, you know, it was caused by this and that," former chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Gregory Jaczko said. "But the next accident is going to be something different. Nobody can tell you where or when or what exactly it is going to be. You really need to do more on the consequence side."

To read the full article, click here: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-03/world-needs-to-get-ready-for-next-nuclear-power-plant-accident.html
MANY WAYS TO HAVE AN IMPACT: Reduce your consumption of electricity     By Norm Pierce
The nuclear industry is having difficulty producing electricity as inexpensively as natural gas and renewables can, and therefore nuclear companies are beginning to shut down the nuclear plants that are projected to lose money. Conservation has played a significant role in keeping demand lower and thus in keeping the price of electricity low. The local population, trying to get the best deal for itself for electricity, will have a major impact on the decision to retire Pilgrim.

Because my electric hot water heater was nearing the end of its life, I elected to install a heat pump water heater. This heater uses the warmth in your basement to heat the water and uses electricity only as a back up and supplement. The cost for a 50 gallon unit was $1,950 installed, and I will shortly receive a $750 rebate; so the net cost was $1200 installed. Conventional electric heaters would run from $300 to $850 plus installation cost of $600 to $800. The idea was to have the rebate bring the cost to about the same as a conventional heater, so choosing a heat exchanger water heater becomes a no-brainer.    

Work was done in a morning. Ask me in a couple of months how much the electric bill has been reduced.   [email protected]
Advocate Reflections
Joyce Johnson was one of the recently convicted Pilgrim civil disobedients (trespassers). Greg Johnson, Joyce's son, wrote a haiku poem concerning his mom's arrest and conviction:

My mom criminal?
For following her conscience?
Pilgrims would be proud.


Aerial photo and construct, by Paul Rifkin - At our recent trial in Plymouth, we employed the "necessity defense." It is based on a situation where your neighbor has a "No Trespassing" sign on his fence. Your child has gotten into the neighbor's yard and is being attacked by a vicious dog. You climb over the fence to save your child. You are charged with trespassing but are exonerated based on the necessity of saving your child trumping the "No Trespassing" sign. Judge Cannone, who heard the case, found the twelve of us guilty. However she apparently does hear the malevolent guttural sound of hostility emanating from the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station.

Sign Our Petition


The organization Concerned Neighbors of Pilgrim, along with Cape Cod Bay Watch, is collecting signatures to give to the Plymouth Board of Selectmen regarding Entergy's Nuclear Waste Storage. The petition reads:

"Entergy's long term storage of high level radioactive waste in our community poses a risk to our families, homes, businesses, environment and economy. Help us urge Plymouth officials to use their authority to protect public safety and the Town's fiscal well-being before the opportunity is lost or becomes irreversible." 


Sign online today as a citizen or a business:
See what else is happening online: www.pilgrimcoalition.org/calendar

Our member groups are always hosting events, gatherings, and forums for the public. 
We invite you to join us-come out and have some fun and find out what's going on!

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About the Pilgrim Coalition...
We are a non-partisan network of citizens and organizations dedicated to raising awareness of - and reducing - significant risks to public safety, health and our environment arising from the continued operation of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, located in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Make a Donation >>  Help us grow by making a secure, tax-deductible donation online today. Checks can also be made out to the Pilgrim Coalition and sent to us at c/o Jones River Watershed Association, 55 Landing Road, Kingston, MA 02332.

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