Indian Point and the battle for the nation’s energy future.
John P. Cahill serves as counsel to Chadbourne & Parke. Previously he was chief of staff for New York Governor George E. Pataki (2002 to 2006), after serving as general counsel and then commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation from 1995 to 2001. Joseph A. Edgar is a consultant at the Pataki-Cahill Group in New York City, where he focuses on aspects of energy policy, asset development, and environmental law.
The State of New York and its Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) want to close the Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC), a dual-reactor nuclear power station located 38 miles from New York City.1 In many ways, the looming battle over IPEC’s fate is a microcosm of the country’s nuclear power sector, pitting state officials and environmental organizations against a cost-conscious power producer. But the IPEC battle is also much more than a state-of-the-industry snapshot. Aside from the unique concerns that belie its physical proximity to New York City, any forced closure of IPEC on environmental grounds would involve novel issues of law that could fundamentally change the nuclear power paradigm throughout the country.