Ian Sinderhoff

March 19, 2010

On February 24, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 against extending the operational certificate of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant beyond 2012. If this decision is not reversed, it will be the first time in more than 20 years that a state has decided to close a nuclear reactor. The decision came in the wake of President Obama's plan to provide financial support to the nuclear industry. In order to meet the nation's climate policy goals, President Obama recently proposed to triple federal loan guarantees — totaling $54 billion — for the construction of seven new reactors. The administration hopes the loan guarantees will be the first step in a nuclear "renaissance."

Located on the Connecticut River, in Vernon, Vermont, the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant was commissioned in August 1966 and given its operating license in March 1972. The plant is owned by New Orleans-based Entergy, Corp. It is the area's largest source of high-paying jobs, with 650 full-time employees earning an average of $100,000 a year. The concentration of these employees, and the benefit from the plant's $13.8 million in annual state and local taxes, has allowed the town of Vernon to expand its elementary school and build a library. In addition, Vermont Yankee provides local residents with a large tax break. Many of these residents fear the plant's closure will ruin their town and devastate their property values.

However, the senate's decision follows decades of controversy surrounding the nuclear power plant — including a recent sequence of misleading statements, apologies, and internal disciplinary actions by the plant's owner concerning the leakage of radioactive tritium into groundwater surrounding the plant. Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that can bond with oxygen to form "tritiated" water, which can contaminate the plant's cooling systems and cause cancer if ingested in large amounts. In the last two years, Entergy employees told state and legislative officials that underground pipes around the plant did not carry any radioactive liquid — some of these statements were made under oath, while speaking to the Vermont Public Service Board. Nonetheless, tritium was found in the plant's ground water; and, the level of tritium has steadily risen since mid-November. Entergy released an independent statement explaining that the company did not intentionally mislead the government officials, but failed to contextualize their denials of the tritium leak. However, this scandal has not been the only controversy surrounding the nuclear plant in recent years. In August 2007, amid the threat of a worker strike, Vermont Yankee suffered a partial collapse of its cooling tower — forcing the plant to cut its energy production by 50 percent.

The Vermont Legislature's decision has cast doubt over the nuclear industry's plans for expansion. The industry was hoping the proposed loan guarantees would create jobs and spur nuclear development. However, industry executives believe that President Obama's loan guarantees will not matter if state and local officials do not support the nuclear projects. Vermont Yankee hopes that by locating and fixing the tritium leak it can repair its public image in time for the state elections in November. Under Vermont law, an extension of the plant's operating license must be approved by both houses. And, all members of Vermont's House and Senate are up for re-election this year — raising the possibility that Vermont Yankee may still win a renewal to its operating license. However, unless the Senate reverses itself and the House also approves the renewal, Vermont Yankee must close by March 2012.

Sources:

Danial Barlaw, Storm of Criticism Hits Entergy over Vt. Yankee, Times Argus, Jan. 16, 2010, available at http://www.timesargus.com/article/20100116/NEWS01/1160356/0/NEWS03.

Peter Behr, Vt.'s Veto of Reactor Renewal May Throw a Cloud Over Nuclear 'Renaissance', ClimateWire, Feb. 25, 2010, http://stevens.vermontlaw.edu:2069/climatewire/2010/02/25/archive/4?terms=Georgia+nuclear.

John M. Broder, Environmental Advocates Are Cooling on Obama, N.Y. Times, Feb. 18, 2010, at A18, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/science/earth/18enviros.html?partner=rss&emc=rss.

Joel Kirkland & Peter Behr, Obama Ups Administration's Ante for Nuclear Power Plant Incentives, ClimateWire, Feb. 1, 2010, http://stevens.vermontlaw.edu:2069/climatewire/2010/02/01/archive/5?terms=Georgia+nuclear.

David Markiewicz, Ga. Nuclear Plant in Line for Benefits, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Feb. 21, 2010, available at http://www.ajc.com/business/ga-nuclear-plant-in-319531.html.

Susan Smallheer, Vermont Yankee Officials Are Baffled by Cooling Tower Collapse, Rutland Herald, Aug. 25, 2007, available at http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070825/NEWS01/708250359/1002/NEWS01.

Mike Soraghan, Local Buy-in Key to Reactor Proposals, Utility CEO Says, E&E News PM, Mar. 11, 2010, http://stevens.vermontlaw.edu:2069/eenewspm/2010/03/11/archive/5?terms=vermont+yankee.

Matthew L. Wald, Vermont Senate Votes to Close Nuclear Plant, N.Y. Times, Feb. 25, 2010, at A14, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/us/25nuke.html.

Matthew L. Wald, As Clock Ticks, Nuclear Plant Searches for Leak, N.Y. Times, Feb. 27, 2010, at A11, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/27/us/27nuke.html.

Katie Zezima, Town Finds Good Neighbor in Nuclear Plant, N.Y. Times, Mar. 4, 2010, at A18, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/us/04vernon.html?partner=rss&emc=rss.