Cuomo, NRC to discuss Indian Point plant

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo says his staff will meet Tuesday with nuclear regulators to discuss whether a disaster like the one in Japan could happen at the Indian Point power plant.

Indian Point is 38 miles north of New York City on the Hudson River. It sits near the Ramapo Fault, but earthquakes on that fault line are rare.

Cuomo said Saturday that Lt. Gov. Robert J. Duffy and Director of State Operations Howard Glaser would meet with members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Entergy Corp., which runs the plant, says the reactors are safe. Spokesman Jim Steets said the reactors were built to withstand a magnitude-6 earthquake, and the plant's backup electrical generators are on high ground and safe from any tsunami that might swell the Hudson River.

The New York Public Interest Research Group plans to request that Cuomo also discuss the state's other aging nuclear plants at the NRC meeting.

The Sierra Club also is asking the governor to expand his agenda.

A spokesman for Cuomo did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

-- AP