HARRISBURG – There’s a move afoot in Harrisburg to update the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s fee structure regarding nuclear power plant inspections. A bill co-authored by Pennsylvania State Representatives Tom Mehaffie and Elizabeth Fiedler would update the fees used by the DEP to ensure the agency has the tools and resources needed to scrutinize all future, current and shuttered plants across the state.
Those fees haven’t been updated since 2014, so plant operators would now be paying the appropriate amount for inspections needed and plant operations. Currently, Pennsylvania has four operating nuclear power plants, with a fifth anticipated to come online in the summer of 2027 when Three Mile Island in Londonderry Township restarts as the Crane Clean Energy Center. The DEP monitors environmental radiation around nuclear sites and sends staff into plants to observe safety conditions. The legislation was referred to the House Energy Committee for its consideration.