HARRISBURG, Pa. — On Tuesday, environmental advocates took to the Capitol to protest a potential re-opening of the nuclear facility at Three Mile Island.
This comes amid reports that Constellation Energy is in talks with state lawmakers about restarting TMI Reactor 1. The facility has been going through a decommissioning process since 2019.
“These discussions have been happening behind closed doors in the dark, and this is such an important issue," said Eric Epstein with TMI Alert.
Protesters recounted their stories from the meltdown of TMI-2 in 1979 and expressed their concerns about the safety of the facility.
“This is not a pro or anti-nuclear issue to us; it is a health and safety issue," said Joyce Corradi.
Epstein said that reopening TMI-1 would be an expensive endeavor for taxpayers and that lawmakers should be focused on cleaning up the waste that remains at the facility.
“They have no workers, they have no access to water, they have no waste space, and they sold tens of millions of dollars in equipment. So, they’re going to be playing catch-up," said Epstein.
Meanwhile, State Rep. Tom Mehaffie (R-Dauphin County) said state lawmakers should consider ways to reopen TMI-1. He said the move would not only bring jobs back to the area but provide reliable energy to the grid.
“Coal is shutting down around us, and the only other benefit we have to baseload power is nuclear power," said Rep. Mehaffie. “We have an opportunity to bring 900 megawatts online again.”
He added that the bipartisan, bicameral Nuclear Energy Caucus will work to schedule hearings about a potential Three Mile Island restart when lawmakers come back to session.