Astorino drops Indian Point lawsuits

ALBANY - Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, who lost re-election last week, dropped two lawsuits Thursday that challenged the closure of the Indian Point power plant.

Astorino, a Republican, filed the lawsuits in May in an effort to force the state to undertake an environmental review before the Buchanan nuclear plant closes.

But with the county executive set to leave office Dec. 31 after losing to Democrat George Latimer, Astorino's attorney, Philip Halpern, quietly filed paperwork Thursday to discontinue both lawsuits.

"From the very beginning we said this was a frivolous and politically motivated stunt that put the long-term safety of Westchester residents at risk," Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said.

"The fact that he chose to end this charade now tells you everything you need to know."

Astorino's office said the issues raised by the lawsuit were still valid, but he decided to end the suit because he will soon be out of office.

“The very important issues that put Westchester County residents at risk, particularly the failure of New York state to conduct a full environment review prior to the decision to close Indian Point, remain," spokesman Jerry McKinstry said. "While the county executive still fully believes in the suit’s merits, he felt it was inappropriate for him to continue with it given the change of administrations.”

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Cuomo and the Entergy-owned plant announced in January that the plant would close by 2021, a move that shocked local leaders and angered Astorino over a number of unanswered questions about the loss of tax revenue from the plant's closure and how it would be closed safely.

He contended the lawsuits were targeted at the decision to close the plant without state deliberations first.

“Our lawsuit has nothing to do with the debate over nuclear energy,” Astorino said when the lawsuits were filed. “It has to do with safety and the rule of law. Ultimately, the issue isn’t whether Indian Point stays open. It’s that any plan to close the plant must fully comply with the law."

Astorino filed the lawsuits despite the opposition of the Democratic-controlled county Board of Legislators. The board refused to support the lawsuit, so Astorino filed it on his own as county executive.

"We are pleased that the lawsuits have been dismissed," Entergy spokesman Jerry Nappi said Thursday.