Group items tagged

January is not the ideal time to embark on a 12-day, 126-mile march through Vermont. That's not stopping local residents, as well as people from New Hampshire and Vermont, from planning a trek from Brattleboro, Vt., to the Statehouse in Montpelier during one of coldest, darkest months of the year. Although it likely will prove to be a "hardship," said Carl Doerner, of Conway, marchers want to make a statement about their opposition to the relicensing of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant in Vernon. "We feel we need to cast as much influence on the (Vermont) Legislature, which is going to vote soon on the question of relicensing Vermont Yankee," Doerner said.

January is not the ideal time to embark on a 12-day, 126-mile march through Vermont. That's not stopping local residents, as well as people from New Hampshire and Vermont, from planning a trek from Brattleboro, Vt., to the Statehouse in Montpelier during one of coldest, darkest months of the year. Although it likely will prove to be a "hardship," said Carl Doerner, of Conway, marchers want to make a statement about their opposition to the relicensing of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant in Vernon. "We feel we need to cast as much influence on the (Vermont) Legislature, which is going to vote soon on the question of relicensing Vermont Yankee," Doerner said.

If the owner of Vermont Yankee, Entergy Corp, issued a warning about Vermont Yankee, would that warning have credibility? Of course it would. With the company long touting its safety, a shift to issuing a warning about Vermont Yankee would get attention. Well, Entergy has been issuing a warning -- but we've just not noticed it as a warning. At the legislative hearing on Dec. 2, Sen. Bill Carris, D-Rutland, questioned Entergy's Vice President, Jay Thayer, asking, "I don't think we understand the 'Why?'" But Mr. Thayer provided legislators with no satisfactory answer as to why Entergy was making such efforts to spinoff Vermont Yankee and five others of its aging nuclear power plants. There is a good reason, one found in Entergy's own recent history with another of its spinoffs. That history may be even closer to the mark than the analogy frequently made with Verizon's sale to Fairpoint and its subsequent bankruptcy. In light of Entergy's actual experience with this other spinoff, its efforts to spin off Vermont Yankee can best be understood as a serious warning. Entergy is the company that saved hundreds of millions of dollars by letting its New Orleans subsidiary go bankrupt after Katrina.

If the owner of Vermont Yankee, Entergy Corp, issued a warning about Vermont Yankee, would that warning have credibility? Of course it would. With the company long touting its safety, a shift to issuing a warning about Vermont Yankee would get attention. Well, Entergy has been issuing a warning -- but we've just not noticed it as a warning. At the legislative hearing on Dec. 2, Sen. Bill Carris, D-Rutland, questioned Entergy's Vice President, Jay Thayer, asking, "I don't think we understand the 'Why?'" But Mr. Thayer provided legislators with no satisfactory answer as to why Entergy was making such efforts to spinoff Vermont Yankee and five others of its aging nuclear power plants. There is a good reason, one found in Entergy's own recent history with another of its spinoffs. That history may be even closer to the mark than the analogy frequently made with Verizon's sale to Fairpoint and its subsequent bankruptcy. In light of Entergy's actual experience with this other spinoff, its efforts to spin off Vermont Yankee can best be understood as a serious warning. Entergy is the company that saved hundreds of millions of dollars by letting its New Orleans subsidiary go bankrupt after Katrina.

The Vermont Supreme Court has upheld a 2008 Environmental Court decision to allow Entergy Vermont Yankee to release thermal discharge water into the Connecticut River that is expected to raise the temperature of the river by one degree. And while environmental groups that argued against the release say the decision will adversely affect aquatic life, Entergy officials celebrated the decision by the state's high court. "We are very pleased with this decision," Yankee spokesman Rob Williams said after the Supreme Court issued its ruling Friday. "Vermont Yankee is a responsible steward of the river and this small leeway granted on temperature limit will help ensure the plant's reliability output during the warmer summer months for the region's electric consumers." Yankee plans on releasing the warmer water into the river this summer, Williams said. The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources first granted Yankee a permit to increase the temperature of the Connecticut River near the plant by one degree in 2004.

The Vermont Supreme Court has upheld a 2008 Environmental Court decision to allow Entergy Vermont Yankee to release thermal discharge water into the Connecticut River that is expected to raise the temperature of the river by one degree. And while environmental groups that argued against the release say the decision will adversely affect aquatic life, Entergy officials celebrated the decision by the state's high court. "We are very pleased with this decision," Yankee spokesman Rob Williams said after the Supreme Court issued its ruling Friday. "Vermont Yankee is a responsible steward of the river and this small leeway granted on temperature limit will help ensure the plant's reliability output during the warmer summer months for the region's electric consumers." Yankee plans on releasing the warmer water into the river this summer, Williams said. The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources first granted Yankee a permit to increase the temperature of the Connecticut River near the plant by one degree in 2004.

The head of the state Senate says it will be much more difficult for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant to win legislative approval for a 20 year license extension if the plant gets a new owner. On Wednesday Senate president Pro Tem Peter Shumlin criticized the Department of Public Service for reversing itself and deciding to support a plan by Entergy Nuclear to create a new company that would own Vermont Yankee and five other nuclear plants. Shumlin says the transaction means Vermont Yankee will no longer be owned by a financially strong company, but by a new firm with $4.7 billion in what he calls "junk bond" debt.

The head of the state Senate says it will be much more difficult for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant to win legislative approval for a 20 year license extension if the plant gets a new owner. On Wednesday Senate president Pro Tem Peter Shumlin criticized the Department of Public Service for reversing itself and deciding to support a plan by Entergy Nuclear to create a new company that would own Vermont Yankee and five other nuclear plants. Shumlin says the transaction means Vermont Yankee will no longer be owned by a financially strong company, but by a new firm with $4.7 billion in what he calls "junk bond" debt.

"New Hampshire Rep. Paul Hodes demanded on Wednesday that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission "answer for its lack of heightened oversight of the troubled Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant." In a letter submitted to Gregory B. Jaczko, chairman of the NRC, Hodes wrote that the NRC's "lax oversight has allowed Vermont Yankee to continue operating despite a safety record featuring frequent, repeated radioactive leaks." He also demanded that the NRC shut down Yankee until an audit of the plant's safety has been conducted. "Families in the emergency planning zone have lost faith in regulators that time and time again allowed Vermont Yankee inspections to miss radioactive leaks," stated Hodes, in a press release. Less than one month ago, stated Hodes, Yankee underwent security and safety inspections as part of a scheduled reactor shutdown. "

If a picture's worth a thousand words, the Vermont Public Interest Research Group's photo mosaic of about 5,000 mini-portraits is something like 5 million words. And those words all say Vermont Yankee should be decommissioned. Advertisement VPIRG unveiled the mosaic Thursday on Elizabeth Hunt's freshly cut lawn in South Burlington. The mosaic's miniature portraits, taken of people at their homes throughout Vermont, put together and tinted slightly, become a pixilated picture roughly the size of a Publishers Clearing House check, of Hunt; her husband, Jesse Moore; and their 1-year-old son, Sam Moore. Members of the research group said they assembled the photo petition to personalize the state's general opinion of the 650-megawatt nuclear power plant. "You can tell a lot more by a person's face than their signature," said Anika James, 21, of Shelburne, who knocked on doors for VPIRG.

If a picture's worth a thousand words, the Vermont Public Interest Research Group's photo mosaic of about 5,000 mini-portraits is something like 5 million words. And those words all say Vermont Yankee should be decommissioned. Advertisement VPIRG unveiled the mosaic Thursday on Elizabeth Hunt's freshly cut lawn in South Burlington. The mosaic's miniature portraits, taken of people at their homes throughout Vermont, put together and tinted slightly, become a pixilated picture roughly the size of a Publishers Clearing House check, of Hunt; her husband, Jesse Moore; and their 1-year-old son, Sam Moore. Members of the research group said they assembled the photo petition to personalize the state's general opinion of the 650-megawatt nuclear power plant. "You can tell a lot more by a person's face than their signature," said Anika James, 21, of Shelburne, who knocked on doors for VPIRG.

If a picture's worth a thousand words, the Vermont Public Interest Research Group's photo mosaic of about 5,000 mini-portraits is something like 5 million words. And those words all say Vermont Yankee should be decommissioned. Advertisement VPIRG unveiled the mosaic Thursday on Elizabeth Hunt's freshly cut lawn in South Burlington. The mosaic's miniature portraits, taken of people at their homes throughout Vermont, put together and tinted slightly, become a pixilated picture roughly the size of a Publishers Clearing House check, of Hunt; her husband, Jesse Moore; and their 1-year-old son, Sam Moore. Members of the research group said they assembled the photo petition to personalize the state's general opinion of the 650-megawatt nuclear power plant. "You can tell a lot more by a person's face than their signature," said Anika James, 21, of Shelburne, who knocked on doors for VPIRG.

"Two environmental groups on Friday asked the U.S. Justice Department to launch a criminal probe of Vermont Yankee nuclear plant officials, saying they had provided false information under oath and operated the plant with "careless disregard" of the potential for leaking radioactive substances. Conservation Law Foundation, a New England-wide environmental group, and the Vermont Public Interest Research Group took aim at Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee and Entergy Nuclear Operations, two subsidiaries of New Orleans-based Entergy Corp. that operate the Vermont Yankee plant in Vernon. In a letter sent to the Justice Department, the groups accused the company of "providing false information under oath, and operating the Vermont Yankee facility with careless disregard that has led to contamination of ground and surface waters with radiologic substances." The letter was signed by CLF Vermont Director Christopher Kilian and VPIRG Executive Director Paul Burns."

"Several environmental groups got a chance to weigh in on the future of Vermont Yankee Wednesday morning at a hearing convened by the Vermont Public Service Board. The hearing follows news that Vermont Yankee officials mislead regulators under oath about the existence of underground pipes at the nuclear plant. The groups at Wednesday's hearing argued Vermont Yankee has lost all credibility and they are calling for a new cost analysis for the decommissioning of the plant. A lawyer for Vermont Yankee told the board the company understands concerns the environmental groups have and agrees all misinformation should be stricken from the record."

"When tritium was found leaking from Vermont Yankee in January, the nuclear power plant violated state law that makes groundwater a public trust, an environmental group has charged in a filing with the state Public Service Board. The Vermont Natural Resources Council hopes to augment pending arguments from others that the Vernon nuclear power plant should be shut down as a result of the leak, said Jon Groveman, VNRC's general counsel. The Public Service Board agreed in February to consider the arguments of the Conservation Law Foundation and New England Coalition that Vermont Yankee should be shut down either temporarily or permanently because of the tritium leak. The case is pending before the board. Vermont Yankee has argued that only the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission can regulate the plant's release of radioactive material. Groveman said he hopes VNRC's argument will show that the state does have jurisdiction in protecting its groundwater. The Legislature passed a law in 2008 declaring groundwater as a public-trust resource. By allowing tritium to leak into the groundwater, Vermont Yankee violated that law, he said."

The owners of Vermont Yankee say they might shut the plant down in 2012, if Vermont doesn't approve of a new spin-off corporation that would own the reactor. Legislative leaders say they remain strongly opposed to the spin-off. VPR's Bob Kinzel reports. (Kinzel) In the next few months, the PSB is expected to rule on the spin-off plan. Under the proposal, the current owners of Vermont Yankee, Entergy, would reorganize six of its unregulated nuclear power plants into a new corporation known as Enexus. Jay Thayer is a vice president for Entergy. He says it's a good plan because Enexus will have greater financial resources available to help support Vermont Yankee for the next 20 years:

The owners of Vermont Yankee say they might shut the plant down in 2012, if Vermont doesn't approve of a new spin-off corporation that would own the reactor. Legislative leaders say they remain strongly opposed to the spin-off. VPR's Bob Kinzel reports. (Kinzel) In the next few months, the PSB is expected to rule on the spin-off plan. Under the proposal, the current owners of Vermont Yankee, Entergy, would reorganize six of its unregulated nuclear power plants into a new corporation known as Enexus. Jay Thayer is a vice president for Entergy. He says it's a good plan because Enexus will have greater financial resources available to help support Vermont Yankee for the next 20 years:

"Even though the Nuclear Regulatory Commission knew about the extent of underground and buried pipes at Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon, it didn't attempt to correct statements made by Yankee representatives during hearings before Vermont state agencies in 2009. Entergy, which owns and operates Yankee, had told the NRC that the plant has 40 below-grade pipes that carry radionuclides, said Jim Noggle, NRC Region 1's senior health physicist, during a tritium workshop at Brattleboro Union High School on April 19. "We always knew about them," he said. "They were not unknown at all to us." After a leak of tritiated water was discovered at Yankee in January, state agencies learned statements made by Yankee representatives at hearings before the Vermont Public Service Board, to Nuclear Safety Associates, which conducted a comprehensive reliability assessment of the plant, and the Public Oversight Panel, which reviewed the CRA, weren't consistent with the actual extent of underground pipes at the plant. "

Four elderly women living downwind of the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor were arrested Monday afternoon when they walked through the first two security gates at the Vernon reactor and sat down on folding chairs, blocking entry to the plant. The four women, members of the Vermont Yankee Shut It Down Affinity Group, are no strangers to Vermont Yankee protests, and each said they had been arrested multiple times outside the Entergy Nuclear corporate headquarters in North Brattleboro but never prosecuted. Entergy Nuclear officials said that the response by the plant's security forces Monday afternoon went well and denied that security had been breached. But the women, wearing tie-dye T-shirts and carrying folding stools and signs, ignored the entreaties of the armed guard at the guardhouse, marched right past him through the second chain-link gate and then sat down with their folding chairs and protest signs.

Four elderly women living downwind of the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor were arrested Monday afternoon when they walked through the first two security gates at the Vernon reactor and sat down on folding chairs, blocking entry to the plant. The four women, members of the Vermont Yankee Shut It Down Affinity Group, are no strangers to Vermont Yankee protests, and each said they had been arrested multiple times outside the Entergy Nuclear corporate headquarters in North Brattleboro but never prosecuted. Entergy Nuclear officials said that the response by the plant's security forces Monday afternoon went well and denied that security had been breached. But the women, wearing tie-dye T-shirts and carrying folding stools and signs, ignored the entreaties of the armed guard at the guardhouse, marched right past him through the second chain-link gate and then sat down with their folding chairs and protest signs.

We all know that Entergy Vermont Yankee prides itself on its safe, clean, reliable, and 24/7 production of power. But there's no fine print on those full-page color newspaper ads advising us that some 200 toxic radionuclides are also produced, not all of them safely, cleanly or reliably prevented from contaminating the Vermont, New Hampshire or Massachusetts countryside. Vermont Yankee also produces Plutonium 239, a carcinogen, teratogen, and mutagen; more than enough every month (2.13 pounds) to provide a lethal dose for every human being on the planet. In 37 years of operation, Vermont Yankee has produced enough Plutonium 239 to kill everyone on Earth hundreds of times. Also, as competent proliferators certainly know, civilian reactor-grade plutonium can be used to make nuclear weapons.

We all know that Entergy Vermont Yankee prides itself on its safe, clean, reliable, and 24/7 production of power. But there's no fine print on those full-page color newspaper ads advising us that some 200 toxic radionuclides are also produced, not all of them safely, cleanly or reliably prevented from contaminating the Vermont, New Hampshire or Massachusetts countryside. Vermont Yankee also produces Plutonium 239, a carcinogen, teratogen, and mutagen; more than enough every month (2.13 pounds) to provide a lethal dose for every human being on the planet. In 37 years of operation, Vermont Yankee has produced enough Plutonium 239 to kill everyone on Earth hundreds of times. Also, as competent proliferators certainly know, civilian reactor-grade plutonium can be used to make nuclear weapons.

"Following the discovery of a radioactive leak coming from an underground pipe at Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant on Jan. 6, both the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Yankee are being audited. The U.S. Government Accountability Office is planning a review of the NRC's requirements for and oversight of buried pipes at nuclear power plants. Yankee is being audited by the NRC to determine if its license renewal application completely and accurately represents the nature and extent of buried piping at the plant in Vernon. While the GAO's review has not yet begun, the NRC was in Vernon the week of May 24 to conduct its audit. The NRC has 90 days to issue its report. The NRC's visit to Yankee was scheduled, "In light of the recent developments related to tritium leaks found on the site and potential misinformation given to the state of Vermont by Entergy ..." "

This year, the Vermont state Legislature may cast a binding vote on the continued operation of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power station beyond 2012. I live six miles from Yankee. I am deeply concerned that successful evacuation in the event of an accident is impossible. I fear a "Katrina effect" where-low income, disabled and elderly people fare the worst. Vermont Yankee was licensed to operate for 40 years. It has operated the past three years in "uprate mode," generating 120 percent of its original capacity. Yankee has a relatively poor safety record, including the spectacular collapse of a cooling tower just last year.

The discussion about Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon wasn't confined to whether or not it should continue to operate past 2012, its original license expiration date. Also of concern to both sides of the debate, and those in the middle, was whether Entergy, which owns and operates Yankee, should be allowed to spin off Yankee into a wholly independent company with financial liabilities of more than $4 billion. Vermont's Public Service Board is still reviewing whether it should issue a certificate of public good to allow the spin off. Earlier in 2009, the Department of Public Service opposed the formation of Enexus, the spin off company, unless certain conditions were met. After most of the conditions are met by Entergy, DPS recommends the PSB approve the transaction. Greenpeace warned Vermont that the formation of Enexus would not be in the best interests of the state.

The discussion about Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon wasn't confined to whether or not it should continue to operate past 2012, its original license expiration date. Also of concern to both sides of the debate, and those in the middle, was whether Entergy, which owns and operates Yankee, should be allowed to spin off Yankee into a wholly independent company with financial liabilities of more than $4 billion. Vermont's Public Service Board is still reviewing whether it should issue a certificate of public good to allow the spin off. Earlier in 2009, the Department of Public Service opposed the formation of Enexus, the spin off company, unless certain conditions were met. After most of the conditions are met by Entergy, DPS recommends the PSB approve the transaction. Greenpeace warned Vermont that the formation of Enexus would not be in the best interests of the state.

"It's time for the state to have a new conversation about Vermont Yankee. The likelihood of the state's lone nuclear power plant getting a 20-year license extension has never looked more dim, and we need to deicde what happens if it closes in 2012. In brief, for those of you who haven't been paying attention: Having survived all the technical reviews and with only the state's political hurdles to clear, Yankee not only started to leak water with radioactive contamination, but got caught in having misinformed the regulators about the kind of pipes that might lead to such a leak. That's led for calls - including from the congressional delegation - to put the plant back at square one of the process, but this time with more skeptical reviewers who are unlikely to accept anything at face value. That is exactly the kind of review that shut down Maine Yankee more than a decade ago for safety reasons. So it's time for Vermont to get ready for life after Yankee … just in case."

"State officials reacted strongly last week when Vermont Yankee admitted it had underground pipes that could leak radioactivity. But the news should not have come as a complete surprise. A nuclear engineer who advises the legislature says he alerted the state last summer and fall about the potential problems with the underground pipes. VPR's John Dillon reports: (Dillon) Arnie Gundersen is a nuclear engineer who works as a consultant for the Legislature to keep track of Vermont Yankee issues. Gundersen also serves on a Public Oversight Panel that reviewed Yankee's reliability to operate for another 20 years. The oversight panel asked Yankee if it had underground pipes that could leak - and plant officials repeatedly said no. That information turned out not to be true. Yankee disclosed last week that it has underground pipes - and that the pipes could be the source of radioactive tritium found in a groundwater monitoring well 30 feet from the Connecticut River. "

This is the final of two stories detailing a new report on the economics of closing Vermont Yankee in 2012. BRATTLEBORO -- A revenue-sharing agreement between Vermont Yankee and the state's utilities that goes into effect if the nuclear power plant continues to operate past 2012 is not all it's cracked up to be, said a pair of men who reviewed reams of documents filed with the Vermont Public Service Board. BRATTLEBORO -- A revenue-sharing agreement between Vermont Yankee and the state's utilities that goes into effect if the nuclear power plant continues to operate past 2012 is not all it's cracked up to be, said a pair of men who reviewed reams of documents filed with the Vermont Public Service Board. "While there is a small chance that it will have small value, conceivably as high as around $150 million, this could come only against the backdrop of Vermonters' buying over $3 billion of electricity from VY at market rates," said John Greenberg, who with Michael Daley, authored the study, which was released in August.

This is the final of two stories detailing a new report on the economics of closing Vermont Yankee in 2012. BRATTLEBORO -- A revenue-sharing agreement between Vermont Yankee and the state's utilities that goes into effect if the nuclear power plant continues to operate past 2012 is not all it's cracked up to be, said a pair of men who reviewed reams of documents filed with the Vermont Public Service Board. BRATTLEBORO -- A revenue-sharing agreement between Vermont Yankee and the state's utilities that goes into effect if the nuclear power plant continues to operate past 2012 is not all it's cracked up to be, said a pair of men who reviewed reams of documents filed with the Vermont Public Service Board. "While there is a small chance that it will have small value, conceivably as high as around $150 million, this could come only against the backdrop of Vermonters' buying over $3 billion of electricity from VY at market rates," said John Greenberg, who with Michael Daley, authored the study, which was released in August.

"In an unusual state foray into nuclear regulation, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 Wednesday to block operation of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant after 2012, citing radioactive leaks, misstatements in testimony by plant officials and other problems. The Vermont Senate has voted to block a license extension for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant in Vernon, Vt. Nuclear opponents celebrated a State Senate vote Wednesday that could help close the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant in 2012. Unless the chamber reverses itself, it will be the first time in more than 20 years that the public or its representatives has decided to close a reactor. The vote came just more than a week after President Obama declared a new era of rebirth for the nation's nuclear industry, announcing federal loan guarantees of $8.3 billion to assure the construction of a twin-reactor plant near Augusta, Ga."