Indian Point nuclear power plant. Photo: Entergy Nuclear

Communities across the United States where nuclear power plants have been shut down face huge gaps in tax revenues, sometimes in the tens of millions of dollars. States such as New Jersey, Illinois, Wisconsin, and California are watching events in New York now that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed a new law that says cities can “assess the economic value of storing waste” on sites where nuclear plants once operated, as reported by Bloomberg.

The Climate Coalition—a self-described “confederation of individuals, environmental groups, climate and clean energy advocates”—is urging New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to suspend the closure of the Indian Point nuclear power plant. Closing the plant, the group argues in a letter and petition delivered to the governor on April 22 (the 50th anniversary of Earth Day), would be particularly unwise, given the ordeal that the state is currently undergoing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The plant is located in Buchanan, N.Y.