BIG FOX – WYDC Twin Tiers, Emma Hammon, 4.10.26
The future of a proposed nuclear power plant in the Finger Lakes region is sparking conversation, as nearly 200 people gathered in Watkins Glen to voice their concerns.
The forum brought community members together to discuss the potential development, which would be located in Schuyler County on the former Camp Monterey grounds.
At the event, Tim Judson of Nuclear Information and Resource Services explained how nuclear power plants operate.
“They use heat to boil water, to make steam to turn a turbine, and make electricity,” Judson said. “The difference is how they make the heat, and with a nuclear plant you do that not by burning fossil fuels, but by splitting atoms—and that produces a lot of heat, but also a lot of radioactive waste.”
Many attendees expressed concerns about how the proposed plant could impact public health and the surrounding environment.
“It’s all about our health, it’s all about the safety of our water, the safety of our communities,” Judson said. “The economy around here is based on having clean water, being able to grow food and having it be healthy, and this is directly at odds against that.”
The event was hosted by the Seneca Lake Guardian. The environmental group’s vice president, Yvonne Taylor, emphasized why community members should pay attention to the issue.
“I hope that people will be willing to have an open mind,” Taylor said. “Nuclear would be raising our electricity rates at a time when we are experiencing high bills.”
Taylor also encouraged residents to take action and make their voices heard.
“Please sign a letter that we’re sending to Schuyler legislators, urging them to withdraw that letter of interest to site a nuclear power plant here in the Finger Lakes,” she said.
Organizers says the community sharing there voices will play a key role int the proposals development.