Massachusetts rejects request to discharge radioactive water from closed nuclear plant into bay

Massachusetts environmental regulators have denied a request by the company dismantling a shuttered nuclear power plant to release more than 1 million gallons of radioactive wastewater into Cape Cod Bay. The state Department of Environmental Protection’s draft decision issued Monday said it denied Holtec’s request for a permit modification because the discharge from Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth would violate a state law that designates the bay as an ocean sanctuary. The draft will not be finalized until after a public comment period that ends Aug. 25. Environmentalists and politicians praised the decision. Holtec said it was disappointed with the ruling.