Community Task Force on Indian Point to Meet Today in Cortlandt
A community unity task force set up by Cortlandt Supervisor Linda Puglisi to deal with the many issues surrounding the closure of the Indian Point nuclear power plants is slated to meet for the first time Thursday evening at Cortlandt Town Hall.
The task force, comprised of key stakeholders from municipalities and school districts in the area, the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce, realtors, interested residents and others, will be discussing short-term and long-term strategies in public, starting at 7 p.m.
“This task force will continue to meet for years with the goal to develop plans to address the many impacts we face due to these closures,” Puglisi said. “Three and four years go by quickly and we need to plan immediately, which we will do.”
In early January, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Entergy and Riverkeeper stunned local officials when they announced Indian Point would stop operating in April 2021 since it was no longer profitable enough for Entergy.
The announcement sent immediate financial shockwaves since Entergy is a major funding source, providing 33% of annual revenue to the Hendrick Hudson School District, 46% to the Village of Buchanan, 64% to the Verplanck Fire Department. 28% to the Hendrick Hudson Free Library, 2% to the Town of Cortlandt and 1% to Westchester County.
A community unity petition has been launched by local officials and stakeholders requesting state and federal officials assist the region with such issues as tax stabilization, lost jobs, environmental issues, impact to local businesses and reuse of the 240-acre site where Indian Point is located in Buchanan. The petition can be found on Cortlandt’s website www.townofcortlandt.com.
Puglisi noted officials from Cuomo’s office and the Public Service Department are expected to travel to Cortlandt this week to listen in person to the many concerns the community has about Indian Point’s scheduled exit.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
