State appeals Atomic Safety board ruling oer Vermont Yankee's emergency response system
Vermont Business Magazine | February 26, 2015
Read in full at Vermont Business Magazine
[Full text of the appeal from Aaron Kisicki, Counsel for the State of Vermont, Vermont Department of Public Service]
Vermont asks to join petition to study Entergy's finances
Fred Contrada | MassLive | February 26, 2015
[...] The state of Vermont has joined a petition with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission to investigate the financial health of Entergy Nuclear, saying it has safety concerns about its ability to decommission the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.
Entergy shut the plant down last December and has already begun the decommissioning process, which is expected to cost more than $1 billion. The attorneys general of Massachusetts and New York have already filed petitions asking the NRC to look closely at the company's financial health. The Vermont Citizens Awareness Group, a private organization, has also joined the petition. Similar concerns have been expressed about the decommissioning of Entergy's Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Plymouth. [...]
Residents seek assurance from feds on Vermont Yankee decommissioning
John Herrick | VTDigger | February 22, 2015
[...] Residents and state officials are worried that federal regulations are inadequate to hold the plant owner accountable if there is insufficient money to decommission the facility. The company is using a special decommissioning trust fund — currently totaling $650 million — to pay for a process that is estimated to cost $1.2 billion.
Department of Public Service Commissioner Chris Recchia told federal regulators that they are “stewards” of the fund. Vermont Yankee is the second merchant plant in the nation to decommission; all others were owned by utilities and backed by ratepayer funds. Vermont Yankee was owned by a regulated utility prior to Entergy’s purchase the plant in 2002. [...]
Nuclear industry goes hysterically ballistic over Yankee shut-down
Michael Mariotte | GreenWorld | January 5, 2015
[...] After decades of campaigning, especially over the past 15 years when the Nuclear Free New England campaign kicked off at an action camp near Brattleboro, VT in 1998 (the initial announcement of VY’s impending shutdown was made 15 years to the day that 21 activists were arrested at the reactor site as the culmination of that camp), as well as years of deceit and bumbling by VY’s last owner Entergy–which managed to alienate just about the entire region’s population along with nearly every political leader in Vermont–such festivities were certainly in order. [...]
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant Begins Slow Process of Closing
By Jess Bidgood | New York Times | January 4, 2015
Read in full at the New York Times
[...] “I get reminded every year when I get sent the battery for the emergency device,” said Chris Hardee, a marketing consultant who lives in Chesterfield, just across the river from Vermont Yankee, “and a wonderful calendar for the power company.”
Mr. Hardee was working on his laptop at the food co-op in Brattleboro, the nearby town that has been fertile ground for antinuclear sentiment here. To him and a friend at the co-op, Lisa Merton, the shutdown was welcome news.
“It could change life as we know it, and it still can,” Ms. Merton, 62, a filmmaker who lives in Marlboro, said of the plant. “It’s not a risk that’s worth taking.” [...]
Another Reactor Closes, Punctuating New Reality for U.S. Nuclear Power
By Christina Nunez | National Geographic | January 1, 2015
Read in full at National Geographic
[...] So far, nuclear isn't winning. Vermont Yankee, which shut down Monday after 42 years of operation, is the fourth U.S. nuclear facility to close in two years. For the owners of each recent retiree—from Vermont Yankee to San Onofre in California, Kewaunee in Wisconsin, and Crystal River in Florida—the math just didn't work. [...]
Why Closing Vermont Yankee Won't Raise New England's Power Bills
By Mark Cooper | Forbes | December 31, 2014
[...] But for those who genuinely are worried about electricity sector prices in New England, it is time to take a new approach. Contrary to the claims of some nuclear advocates, closing Vermont Yankee is an important step in the right direction and it teaches an important lesson for the bigger picture of electricity sector policy making. [...]
Vermont Yankee closes!
Beyond Nuclear | December 31, 2014
Read in full at Beyond Nuclear
[...] thanks to decades of citizen organizing and protest; the wise backing of the elected officials of the State of Vermont; the attempted deception of Vermont Yankee owners, Entergy, whose representatives even lied under oath; and the hopeless economics of nuclear power, the Vermont Yankee reactor has shut down permanently. [...]
Vermont Yankee ends its long run
By David Rainville | December 30, 2014
Read in full at the Daily Hampshire Gazette
[...] There was little fanfare, no ceremonial “big switch” to throw and the lights didn’t even flicker as the 620-megawatt Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant shut down Monday afternoon.
It was a slow, quiet process that took about three hours to bring the 1972 boiling water reactor offline. [...]
Activists Permanently Shut Down Vermont Yankee Nuke Plant
Harvey Wasserman | EcoWatch | December 29, 2014
Read in full at EcoWatch - and OpEdNews - and CounterPunch
The Vermont Yankee atomic reactor goes permanently off-line today, Dec. 29, 2014. Citizen activists have made it happen. The number of licensed U.S. commercial reactors is now under 100 where once it was to be 1,000.
Decades of hard grassroots campaigning by dedicated, non-violent nuclear opponents, working for a Solartopian green-powered economy, forced this reactor’s corporate owner to bring it down. [...]
Vermont Yankee Shuts Down
By Susan Keese | Vermont Public Radio | December 29, 2014
Read in full and listen at VPR
[...] "Within a few minutes I would expect,” Jefferies said, “They’ll scram the reactor and we expect that the remaining control rods that go in should insert within one to three seconds and all these will go to zero. These will all light up to zero when the reactor is scrammed." [...]
VIDEO: Vermont Yankee powers down
By Kayla Rice | Brattleboro Reformer | December 29, 2014
Watch at the Brattleboro Reformer
VERNON >> After 42 years of producing nuclear power, Vermont Yankee is scheduled to scale back to zero power production sometime between 8 a.m. and noon today. While there may be a brief arc in a switch yard north of the plant, outside observers won't see any difference that afternoon, Entergy administrators said last week.
Handshakes at nuclear plant, relief among foes
By Richie Davis | The Recorder (Greenfield, MA) | December 29, 2014
[...] “Today I’m just going to breathe a little easier,” said Deb Katz, president of the Citizens Awareness Network in Rowe, “and thank the workers for coasting the reactor safely to the point where it will no longer pose the threat has to community.”
Katz, who lives 16 miles away from the Vernon, Vt., reactor and just 4½ miles from the high-level waste stored at the Yankee Atomic site, called the shutdowns “an affirmation that democracy really works, that citizens who were concerned, and were opposed to Vermont Yankee’s continued operation really created an educational campaign, they fought long and hard and were successful in shutting down this reactor.” [...]
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant Powers Down
New England Cable News | December 29, 2014
Read in full and watch at NECN
[...] those who had expressed concerns over an aging nuclear plant operating within Vermont were glad to see this day come. "I think it's a great day for Vermont," said nuclear safety advocate Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds Energy Education.
Gundersen told New England Cable News that to him, an orderly shutdown to the plant comes as a relief, compared to catastrophic problems he could imagine in regards to potential issues at the plant.
"The economics of nuclear power are just no longer viable," Gundersen said. "We'll see more and more plants shutting down over the next decade." [...]
One Less Fukushima-type Nuclear Reactor Threatening the U.S.
By Jim Riccio | Common Dreams | December 27, 2014
After a long struggle, the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant near Brattleboro is slowing shutting down and will cease to split atoms on December 29th. Congratulations to the people of Vermont! Their steadfast efforts over decades made this victory a reality and now there is one less General Electric Mark I reactor, the same design as those that melted down and exploded in Fukushima, threatening New England. [...]
Vermont Yankee To Shut Down Permanently On Monday
By Pat Bradley | WAMC Northeast Public Radio | December 24, 2014
Read in full and listen at WAMC
[...] Entergy’s Cohn reports that there is currently $665 million in the decommissioning trust fund, while the cost of decommissioning is $1.2 billion.
Citizens Awareness Network Vermont Organizer Chris Williams is concerned not only about the spent fuel rods, but the stability of Entergy’s decommissioning fund. “What they have counted on is for financial market forces to have the fund grow. And that’s been sorely lacking in achieving what’s necessary to decommission the plant. The company is saying we’re going to have to sit and wait for the fund to accrue via market investments.” [...]
Vermont Yankee's Next Chapter
By Jane Lindholm & Ric Cengeri | Vermont Public Radio | December 17, 2014
Read in full and listen at VPR
The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant has been operating since 1972. Now, we're less than two weeks away from the plant closing for good. And while it will stop producing energy, life will continue at the plant with the storage of spent fuel and the decommissioning of the plant. [...]
Vermont Public Service Department announces meeting of Nuclear Decomissioning Citizens Advisory Panel
Press Release | Dec 17, 2014
Read full press release at VTDigger
The Public Service Department today announced that the next meeting of the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel will be held on Thursday December 18, 2014... The agenda for the December 18 meeting includes discussion of the Vermont Yankee Site Assessment Study (SAS) and draft Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR), including a review of comments from the Agency of Natural Resources, the Department of Health, and the Public Service Department.
Vermont Public Service Department announces Nov. 20 meeting of Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel
Press Release | Nov 13, 2014
Read full press release at VTDigger
The Public Service Department today announced that the next meeting of the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel will be held on Thursday November 20, 2014 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, at the Marlboro College Center for Graduate and Professional Studies, 28 Vernon Street, Brattleboro, Vermont.
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel
Visit the Vermont Public Service Department page for Vermont Yankee and the Citizens Advisory Panel
National Summit for a Nuclear Free Future
When: Friday, November 14 – Monday, November 17, 2014
Where: National 4-H Youth Conference Center, 7100 Connecticut Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD 20815
What: The EPA is blatantly promoting nuclear power as one solution to cutting carbon. Nuclear is NO solution, and we need to push to end any campaigns to encourage more nuclear, and instead promote clean renewable technologies. Come help us plan strategies to move towards a future free of nuclear power.
Questions: Susan Corbett (reindeargirl@gmail.com)
Buy tickets: http://action.sierraclub.org/site/Calendar/6713514?view=Detail&id=174801
Entergy details staff cuts, spent fuel plans at Vermont Yankee
Brattleboro Reformer | September 27, 2014 | Mike Faher
BRATTLEBORO -- Entergy expects to slash its Vermont Yankee staff by more than 40 percent early next year after the Vernon nuclear plant shuts down, with another big staffing reduction due in spring 2016.
Also, the company's local charitable giving -- which totaled $175,000 this year -- will be reduced by an unspecified amount next year, administrators said.
But at the first meeting of the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel Thursday night in Brattleboro, Entergy also delivered a few bits of somewhat positive news.
[...]
Entergy outlines post-shutdown plans for Vermont Yankee
VTDigger | September 26, 2014 | John Herrick
VERNON — Spent radioactive fuel will be removed from the reactors at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant by 2020, the plant’s corporate owner told a citizen oversight panel Thursday.
But Louisiana-based Entergy said it does not know when it will begin tearing down Vermont Yankee after it stops producing power in December. The plant has already begun to slow power production and plans to cut 40 percent of its workforce by January.
[...]
Vermont Public Service Department Announces Inaugural Meeting of Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel on September 25, 2014
Vermont Public Service Department Announces Inaugural Meeting of Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel
Montpelier, Vermont – The Public Service Department today announced that the inaugural meeting of the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel (NDCAP), created by the legislature in Act 179 to succeed the Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel, will be held on September 25, 2014, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, in the multi-purpose room at Brattleboro Union High School, 131 Fairground Road in Brattleboro. The agenda for the September 25 meeting includes a discussion of the mission of NDCAP; an overview of the Settlement Agreement reached between the State of Vermont and Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee (ENVY) in December 2013; and Vermont Yankee decommissioning and stakeholder assessment findings. In addition, ENVY will present a summary of current decommissioning activities at Vermont Yankee. The meeting will be recorded by Brattleboro Cable Access Television (BCTV) who will upload the recording to the Vermont Media Exchange for distribution to all other Vermont public access stations.
All meetings of the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel are open to the public. More information regarding the statutory creation of NDCAP, as well as current appointees to the Panel, will be posted later today on the Public Service Department’s website: http://publicservice.vermont.gov/announcements
The end is nearer for Vt. Yankee
Barre-Montpelier Times Argus | September 17, 2014 | Susan Smallheer
BRATTLEBORO — Entergy Nuclear announced Tuesday that Vermont Yankee was starting its “coastdown” to shutdown later this year.
“Starting now, you’ll see a gradual decrease until the end of the year,” said Entergy Nuclear spokesman Martin Cohn.
Cohn compared the “coastdown” of the Vernon nuclear reactor as when someone starts putting on the brakes on his car in anticipating of stopping at a stop sign.
{...]
Panel appointed to track Vermont Yankee shutdown
Burlington Free Press | September 9, 2014 | Terri Hallenbeck
MONTPELIER – Six people were appointed Tuesday to fill out the 19-member citizens panel that will offer input on the decommissioning of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, which is scheduled to shut down by the end of the year.
The group's purpose is to keep tabs on the decommissioning process by plant owner Entergy Corp., including tracking the level of the decommissioning fund and serving as an outlet for public comment. Critics of the plant had advocated for having such a panel modeled after one in Maine.
[...]
ANR Public Hearing
When: August 20, 2014 at 6:00 PM
Where: Vernon Elementary School, 381 Governor Hunt Road, Vernon, VT 05354
What: The Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) has issued a draft thermal discharge permit to Vermont Yankee. ANR does not accept Entergy's calculations. However the agency will permit Vermont Yankee to continue to pollute the Connecticut River till the end of 2014. It did set conditions on its releases. We believe Entergy should use its cooling towers for the next 6 months.
ANR's deadline for Public Comment has been extended to August 27, 2014.
Here is the link to the update. http://www.watershedmanagement.vt.gov/ww/drafts/3-1199.Entergy.PublicHearing.20140702.pdf
Deb Katz: Focus on the public good
VTDigger Commentary | August 10, 2014
We must keep our focus on the public good for the citizens of Vermont, Massachusetts and New Hampshire as Vermont Yankee is powering down and working toward closure in December. The Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) is a critical way to keep that focus sharp.
The nuclear industry makes many claims about the safety and security of its plants, including Vermont Yankee. However, we must acknowledge the potential vulnerability of the fuel pools to terrorism and accidents. A National Academy of Science Report in 2005 confirmed the concerns of both state governments and local citizens. This report preceded the ongoing Fukushima disaster that included the melting of fuel in two of its Mark 1 reactor pools.
Vermont Yankee is a GE Mark 1 reactor. GE Mark 1 and 2 reactors are the most vulnerable reactors structurally in the country. Vermont Yankee’s fuel pool is filled to capacity (over 530 tons) and elevated (seven stories above ground outside of containment). These factors pose an unacceptable risk to those who live around the plant. Millions of curies of high level waste are stored in this above-ground pool with a metal roof. An attack on the pool that causes the fuel cladding to catch fire could result in a 25,000 square mile area being uninhabitable for decades. An accident involving the loss of water from the pool could have the same consequences. The National Academy of Science Report on fuel pool vulnerability states that such a fire could lead to the dispersal of radioactive plumes up to 100 miles.
[...]
Vt. Yankee asked to monitor river warming with samples
The Recorder (Greenfield, Mass.) | By Richie Davis | July 3, 2014
VERNON, Vt. — The state’s Agency of Natural Resources wants Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant to monitor how much it warms the Connecticut River with actual sampling rather than through estimates and calculations.
The agency on Thursday released its long-awaited draft permit for the nuclear plant governing its release of cooling water into the Connecticut River.
The draft permit, replacing a discharge permit that expired seven years ago and had been the subject of debate and lawsuits brought by the Greenfield-based Connecticut River Watershed Council, immediately won praise from the nonprofit environmental group for upholding its contention that “bad science” underwrote the thermal discharge limits in previous permits. [...]
Equal Time Radio: June 30, 2014 | Decommissioning Vermont Yankee
Topic: Vermont Yankee is shutting down at the end of this year. We’ll be talking about how Vermonters can stay involved in issues associated with decommissioning and economic development as we enter this new era. Our guests will include Chris Williams from Citizens Awareness Network and Debra Stoleroff from the Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Alliance. We’ll talk about several things, including the new Citizens Advisory Panel that was created during the legislative session, the thermal discharge permit, the Certificate of Public Good, and economic development issues.
Guests: Jeffrey Lewis, Executive Director, Institute for Nuclear Host Communities
Jennifer Stromsten, Program Director, Institute for Nuclear Host Communities
Chris Williams, Citizens Awareness Network www.nukebusters.org
Debra Stoleroff, Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Alliance
CITIZEN ADVISORY PANEL for Vermont Yankee Decommissioning
Download a factsheet and the legislative language from the budget about the CAP
Communities affected by nuclear facilities should have the ability to participate in matters that affect them. Citizens need a substantive role in order to clarify, negotiate and protect their community's interests. A Citizen Advisory Panel (CAP) can be a mechanism to ensure greater community participation. The CAP would meet regularly to give meaningful input into decisions concerning health and safety. The CAP would function to educate their communities to the technology that exists in their neighborhood and its effects and advocate for their communities interests with regulators and corporations. Although the CAP is relevant to all stages of nuclear power production, it is especially relevant to site cleanup.
Senators Boxer, Sanders and Markey Introduce Legislation to Increase Safety at Nuclear Plants
May 13, 2014 | Press Release
Read in full at the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works
Washington, D.C. -- Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) introduced three bills today aimed at improving the safety and security of decommissioning reactors and the storage of spent nuclear fuel at nuclear plants across the nation.[...]
State setting guidelines for Entergy economic development money
May 5, 2014 | Bob Audette, Brattleboro Reformer
Read full article at Vermont Digger
In August 2013, Entergy announced it was closing its power plant at the end of 2014. In a far-reaching agreement with the state, Entergy agreed to contribute $10 million over five years for economic development in Windham County. In addition, Entergy released more than $5 million it was holding in escrow for the state’s Clean Energy Development Fund, half of which is dedicated to the county.
[...] Read the rest here
STATEMENT OF CITIZENS AWARENESS NETWORK ON VERMONT YANKEE CERTIFICATE OF PUBLIC GOOD
Citizens Awareness Network supports the Public Service Board's decision to grant approval of the amended CPG that supports in total the Memorandum of Understanding reached between the State of Vermont and Entergy. While many have serious concerns about Entergy and its ability to live up to its commitments, the settlement reached between the state and Entergy is precedent setting. It is now up to the corporation to live up to its commitments and work constructively with the state of Vermont to achieve a safe and responsible decommissioning of the plant.
This agreement is also important because it mitigates the the impact on Vermont Yankee's workforce that would have almost certainly faced greater hardship without this agreement. We're relieved that Entergy has committed to the expedited removal of the high level waste from its fuel pool upon closure. With closure the fuel pool remains the most significant safety related issue facing the community.
The work is not over. Serious questions remain concerning the adequacy of the decommissioning fund. We also believe it is essential that a Citizen Advisory Board is established to create as democratic and transparent a process as possible for on going decommissioning activities.
Yankee's CPG is in the best interest of all Vermonters
March 24, 2014, Guy Page
Read full Op-ed at the Brattleboro Reformer
A Settlement Agreement announced on December 23, 2013, by Gov. Peter Shumlin, Attorney General William Sorrell, the state of Vermont, and Entergy recommends that the Vermont Public Service Board approve the Certificate of Public Good for Vermont Yankee to continue to operate until the end of 2014. The plant's continued operation through the year will help to ensure a smooth transition of Vermont Yankee to a closed, decommissioning power facility. Without approval of the CPG, the Settlement Agreement will likely be nullified. The following are five reasons why the PSB should approve the CPG by its deadline of March 31, 2014.
[...] Read the rest here
Three Perspectives
Tom Buchanan, Windham Regional Commission; Dr. Mark Resnikoff, Radioactive Waste Management Associates; Deb Katz, Citizens Awareness Network; moderated by Leslie Sullivan Sachs; sponsored by the Safe And Green Campaign
Vermont Yankee could be decommissioned within 10-15 years, Shumlin says
December 23, 2013, John Herrick
Read the full article (and watch more clips) at VTDigger
The state and Entergy have reached an agreement that will ensure that decommissioning of the state’s lone nuclear power plant could begin in the next 10 to 15 years.
An accord between Entergy and the administration was announced during a news conference Monday in Montpelier. The agreement sets a decommissioning goal for the 2020s, sooner than required by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s 60-year permissible timeframe.
VBSR Panel on VT Yankee, 11/20/2013
Nuclear Trashmen Gain From Record U.S. Reactor Shutdowns
September 4, 2013
Read the full article at Bloomberg
Entergy Corp. (ETR) said Aug. 27 it will close its 41-year-old Vermont Yankee nuclear plant in 2014, making the reactor the fifth unit in the U.S. marked for decommissioning within the past 12 months, a record annual total. Companies that specialize in razing nuclear plants and hauling away radioactive waste are poised to benefit.
Disposal work is “where companies are going to make their fortune,” Margaret Harding, an independent nuclear-industry consultant based in Wilmington, North Carolina, said in an phone interview. Contractors that are usually involved in building reactors, including Bechtel Group Inc. and URS Corp. (URS), “are going to be looking very hard at the decommissioning side of it.”
New York attorney general urges NRC to assess financial health of FitzPatrick nuclear plant
December 4, 2013. By Tim Knauss.
Read the full article at Syracuse.com
In August, the NRC agreed to review Entergy's financial qualifications to continue operating FitzPatrick and two other reactors, in response to a petition filed by several anti-nuclear groups including Alliance for a Green Economy, based in Syracuse. A month later, one of the three reactors, Vermont Yankee, announced it would close because of worsening finances.
NRC officials have said they anticipate issuing a draft decision in that case later this week. A final decision would follow in about 75 days, after a comment period.
Two weeks ago, U.S. Senators Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., sent a letter to the NRC expressing "grave concern'' about reports that Entergy had contacted senior NRC officials in an attempt to quash inquiries about its financial operations. In response, Entergy officials said they had raised concerns with the NRC because "certain financial information requests were not consistent with their long-standing guidance and practice.''
Read the letter from the New York attorney general to the NRC
Download the attachments to the letter
Progress reported in Yankee decom talks
December 3, 2013. By Susan Smallheer
Read the full article at the Times Argus (paywall)
MONTPELIER — The two sides in the confidential talks between the Shumlin administration and Entergy Corp. over issues involved in closing the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant reported progress after meeting behind closed doors for eight hours Monday.
“It was constructive and productive,” said Christopher Recchia, commissioner of the Department of Public Service. Recchia said the two sides had a lot of issues to cover, and he said progress had been made, although he declined to be specific.
Recchia and other Shumlin administration officials, along with Attorney General William Sorrell, are meeting with Entergy officials about the major issues involved in the late 2014 shutdown of Yankee, focusing on the timetable for decommissioning, the handling of the highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel, and the eventual reuse of the Vernon site.
Vermont Yankee closure discussed at business group's fall conference
November 21, 2013
Read the full article at the Brattleboro Reformer
On Nov. 20, Vermont Businesses For Social Responsibility held its 21st annual fall conference at the Grand Summit at Mount Snow. One of the discussions had been titled "Vermont Yankee Decomissioning -- Issues and Opportunities." A panel went over several questions based on the theme.
"I hope people leave with a little more knowledge," said moderator Jeff Potter, editor of The Commons. "I encourage you to keep engaging and keep at it. ... It really touches on pretty much every aspect of living down here."
Executive Director of Citizens Awareness Network Representative Deb Katz presented photographs showing a nuclear site that was being cleaned. Sites such as these become toxic waste dumps, she told conference attendees.
"This is a cautionary tale. There are no good solutions to nuclear power and no great solution to clear the site up. You have a situation where you're choosing the best of the worst," she said, advocating for Vermont Yankee employees to be hired for cleaning because they would have knowledge of spills and other events that could help in the clean-up.
Entergy's Nuclear Limbo Threatens Public Safety
October 23, 2013
Entergy's Nuclear Limbo Threatens Public Safety
Contact: Deb Katz, Citizens Awareness Network 4213 339 5781, Chris Williams VT Citizens Action Network, 802 767 9131, Jessica Azulay, Alliance for a Green Economy (315) 480-1515
Entergy, the corporation that owns the troubled Vermont Yankee, FitzPatrick and Pilgrim nuclear reactors is cutting the workforce, failing to invest in key equipment, and showing increasing indecision about keeping its reactors running. Entergy's uncertainty creates a unique safety hazard, and nuclear watchdogs have asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to expand an investigation into how the plants economic problems impact public safety. The request is a supplement to a petition accepted for investigation by the NRC by Citizens Awareness Network, Vermont Citizens Action Network, Alliance for a Green Economy, and Pilgrim Watch.
Decommissioning on Vermont This Week
October 25, 2013
Watch it at Vermont Public Television
Atty Gen Bill Sorrell on The Mark Johnson Show
October 17, 2013
Sorrell discusses Vermont Yankee, privacy issues and says he's running again next year.
Advisory panel pushes quick restoration of Vermont Yankee site
October 23, 2013
Full article at Vermont Digger
[...] The Vermont Citizens Action Network takes a different position on decommissioning than many of the other anti-nuclear groups. The network is advocating for an expedited SAFSTOR method that would last 15 to 25 years, rather than a full 60 years.
“If you go slowly and thoroughly, you’re allowing for more time for the financial instruments to do their thing,” said Chris Williams, president of the network. One of the issues at play is that Vermont Yankee has roughly $580 million in its decommissioning fund, and a DECON dismantling would cost roughly $1 billion. Williams also says it is less costly to take apart a plant when it has had more time to cool.
Williams and his group want the spent fuel to be removed from the pool and put into dry-cask storage containers as soon as possible. They want up to 60 percent of the workforce to remain on site to help with the process, and they want the site returned to a condition that does not restrict its future use due to radioactivity or contamination. The last request for unrestricted use mirrors that of VSNAP.
While the state and interested groups can pressure Entergy, the NRC has the final say over almost all decommissioning matters.
Fairewinds Team on Nuclear Free Future with Margaret Harrington
From Fairewinds (view transcript here)
State weighs what conditions to place on Vermont Yankee closing
October 9, 2013
For more than a year, Entergy has been embroiled in the process of applying for a new permit to continue operating the plant. But after announcing its intention to close the plant at the end of 2014, Entergy amended its application. Rather than petitioning the Vermont Public Service Board to permit the plant until 2032, Entergy now seeks a certificate of public good to run the plant until Dec. 31, 2014.
The Department of Public Service has opposed the re-permitting of the plant since Gov. Peter Shumlin came into office in 2011. But the sea change in Entergy’s plans for the plant is causing the department and Shumlin’s administration to recalculate their strategy.
State lawmakers to discuss Vermont Yankee closure
October 9, 2013
Full article at the Brattleboro Reformer
VERNON -- Members of two state House committees specializing in economic development and energy will travel here later this month to host a community discussion about the impacts of Vermont Yankee's pending closure.
The House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development and the House Committee on Natural Resources and Energy are scheduled to convene joint meetings at 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Oct. 28 at Vernon Elementary School.
Storage questioned at Vt. Yankee, other plants
October 6, 2013
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is being asked to restrict storage of highly radioactive nuclear waste in spent fuel pools like the one at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.
Attention turns to details of closing VY
September 30, 2013
By Terri Hallenbeck. Full article at the Burlington Free Press
For years, Chris Williams fought to close Vermont Yankee. Now that the nuclear power plant’s owner is getting ready to close the Vernon facility, you might think he’d be pushing for decommissioning the plant lickity-split.
Instead, Williams is using the words “slow and thorough” to describe how he’d like to see decommissioning go. Mind you, he’s not signing on to the 60 years that the federal government could allow, but said something like 20 to 25 years would be appropriate.
Williams’s Citizens Action Network is starting to gather support for a plan the anti-nuclear group has put together following Entergy Corp.’s announcement this summer that it will close the plant in 2014.
Anti-nuclear Group Calls For Go-Slow Approach For Yankee Decommissioning
September 27, 2013
By John Dillon. Full article at Vermont Public Radio
An anti-nuclear group is calling for a slow, deliberative decommissioning of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.
Vermont Citizens Action Network says it opposes the 60-year decommissioning time frame that Entergy Vermont Yankee wants to follow.
But the group says it may take 20 years or so to safely dismantle the plant.
Entergy Vermont Yankee plans to shutdown the plant late next year. The company then has up to six decades to dismantle and decommission the plant under a government-approved process known as “SAFSTOR.”
Some Entergy critics – including Gov. Peter Shumlin – want the plant decommissioned as quickly as possible so the site can be used for a new power plant or other industry. But anti-nuclear activist Chris Williams says not so fast. Williams, the president of Vermont Citizens Action Network, is calling for a slower decommissioning timetable.
How close is your home to a nuclear power plant?
March 1, 2013
If a crisis at a nuclear reactor happened in the U.S., could you be living in a danger zone? In a 10-mile radius, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the air could be unsafe to breathe in the event of a major catastrophe. In 50 miles, food and water supplies may be unsafe.
How close is your home? Check now.
Vermont Yankee Case Gains National Importance
July 12, 2012
Reposted from Progressive States Network:
Dangerous Corporate Lawsuit Could Result in Chilling Effect on State Legislatures
A federal court case arising out of Vermont could have dramatic implications for state sovereignty and the ability of legislatures to regulate corporate activities within their borders. Nine states and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) are standing in support of the State of Vermont in the U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit. Vermont is appealing a controversial lower court ruling that, if upheld, would overturn decades of case law defining how courts determine legislatures’ “intent” and whether their actions are preempted by federal authority. Should Vermont lose, NCSL predicts a chilling effect in legislatures across the country and a move toward limiting public debate and open government.
HOT! New Video of Vermont Yankee
May 31, 2012
Check out the new video profile of Vermont Yankee, by the Hot Posse media collaborative. It hits all the major highlights in the ongoing horror show we know as Vermont Yankee -- in under four minutes! The safety problems! ... the leaks! ... the lies! ... the hypocrisy! and not least, Entergy’s ongoing assault on democracy.
Hot Posse 104 Series: Vermont Yankee - on YouTube
Please watch, send it to your friends, share it on Facebook, blast it out on Twitter. Help us get it out, far and wide
