Washington, D.C--Congressman Eliot Engel urged the head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to deny Indian Point’s application for re-licensing, saying the reactors at the Buchanan plant continue to have too many serious issues to ignore.

Rep. Engel met with Dale E. Klein, Commissioner of the NRC, in his Washington office telling him, “Indian Point would never be built today at its present location because of its proximity to the millions of people in the New York metropolitan area. It is degrading the Hudson River by using its water, some two billion gallons daily, to cool the plant, and by the radioactive leakages that may have already reached the river.

“It is a very tempting target for terrorists, and there are too many other serious issues about the dangers of Indian Point’s nuclear reactors to ignore.”

After the meeting on Tuesday, Rep. Engel said, “I urged Commissioner Klein to deny the application to re-license the reactors at Indian Point, and I will continue my strong opposition to the re-licensing in the future. It is indisputable that renewing these licenses will have a significant impact on our community for generations to come.”

Energy, the company that owns the Indian Point nuclear facilities, has applied to the NRC for a 20-year extension of its licenses to operate the plants. If granted, the extension would leave two nuclear reactors operating at Indian Point until at least 2033.