Assembly advances bill to ban radiological discharges into Hudson amid decommissioning debate

Assembly members debated a bill that would bar discharge of radiological effluent, including tritiated water, into the Hudson River as part of nuclear decommissioning plans.

Sponsor Assemblymember Levenberg told the chamber the bill is aimed at protecting the Hudson's economy and local property values and responding to constituent outcry after decommissioning plans disclosed plans to release tritiated water. "We cannot move forward without the public's trust," she said, arguing that potential psychological and economic impacts—tourism, fishing and property values—warrant a state-level bar unless safer alternatives are proven.

Colleagues pressed technical and legal questions: members asked whether radiological discharges fall exclusively under the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and EPA and whether state action would be preempted. Sponsor said the state retains economic regulatory authority and that a court would ultimately decide preemption if litigated. Lawmakers also traded views on alternative disposal options—dry cask burial, off-site shipment, solidification, evaporation capture—and on whether the planned discharge is on the "critical path" for decommissioning and therefore whether the ban would pause work and affect jobs.

Supporters emphasized public anxiety over previously undisclosed effluent discharges and called for time to study safer approaches. Opponents cautioned the Assembly not to upend an ongoing decommissioning contract without careful federal coordination. The bill passed the floor after extended debate and will now proceed to further consideration.