The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, MA is pictured from the sea on Oct. 13, 2015.
State regulators have denied a permit sought by the company in charge of decommissioning the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts, to discharge 1.1 million gallons of industrial wastewater into Cape Cod Bay.
After years of local opposition to the company's discharge plan, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection issued the draft determination Monday, stating that Cape Cod Bay is a protected ocean sanctuary under the state's Ocean Sanctuaries Act, which prohibits dumping industrial wastes into protected state waters.
The draft determination requires a 30-day public comment period before MassDEP can finalize the permit modification decision, the agency said, noting a comment period is open through 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 28.
