The operator of the Millstone nuclear power plant in Waterford will speed up efforts to curb the plant's effect on Long Island Sound under an agreement reached Monday with two environmental groups.
That's good news for winter flounder and other aquatic life: The plant pumps more than 2 billion gallons of water each day out of the Sound to cool its reactors, killing millions of young fish and other creatures before dumping the warmed water back into the Sound.
Millstone's owner, Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, has been operating for years with an expired state permit to discharge its used water into the Sound. The process of updating that permit has been snagged by changing regulations and administrative proceedings.
"What would have likely taken over 15 years is now a three-year process," said Roger Reynolds, staff attorney for the Connecticut Fund for the Environment, one of the groups involved in the negotiations.
That group and The Soundkeeper Inc. contend that Dominion has been stalling over the water discharge issue. They want Dominion to install a closed-cycle system that allows the plant to cool and reuse water without pumping so much out of the Sound. That could reduce fish kill by up to 98 percent, they say.
Full Story: http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-millstone0930.artsep30,0,5682284.story
