Current News

by Mike Faher/The Commons Greater-than-anticipated amounts of groundwater—a total of 90,000 gallons so far—are encroaching into a key building at Vermont Yankee in Vernon, and plant administrators are weighing options to deal with the contaminated liquid. Those options include shipping the water to an out-of-state storage facility. There also has been preliminary talk of releasing water that is within “allowable” pollution limits to the Connecticut River, though state officials say they’ve not yet received any such permitting requests from plant owner Entergy.

Vermont Yankee in Vernon. Courtesy NRC.

by Mike Faher/The Commons Federal regulators have given their blessing to Vermont Yankee’s decommissioning plans. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on February 4 announced that the Vernon plant’s Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report is consistent with federal guidelines. The report includes plant owner Entergy’s decommissioning cost estimate and the company’s schedule for Vermont Yankee’s radiological cleanup. The total cost including license termination, spent fuel management and site restoration is estimated to be $1.24 billion.

Before making any changes to its plans — including those that would “significantly” boost decommissioning costs — Entergy must notify the NRC in writing, officials wrote in a Jan. 29 letter to plant administrators.

Vermont Business Magazine The Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD), with a grant from Dealer.com, has launched a first-of-its-kind project fusing art and recycling. Local artists were invited to paint murals on eight of CSWD's 22-foot-long recycling containers in order to create a more beautiful, engaging recycling experience while drawing attention to the community's efforts to reduce waste. The project began in early January 2016 and is expected to be completed in mid-March.

Vermont Business Magazine Jesse F (Sam) Sammis III, developer of the Green Mountain Center in Randolph, announced late Wednesday afternoon that he was dropping his plans for a mixed-use development in Randolph. Sammis has moved to withdraw his April 12, 2015, request for Partial Review under Act 250 Rule 21 (for Criteria 9(B) Primary Agricultural Soils and 10 Conformance with Local or Regional Plan) and requested that District Commission #3 dismiss his request for Partial Review. The development at Exit 4 on Interstate 89, would have brought a tourist and business promotion center, hotel, commercial and residential development to both sides of the exit. Currently there is a fast-food restaurant and service station at the exit. Sammis has endeavored to develop the site since he bought in in the 1970s. He has developed some properties along Route 66 into Randolph and redeveloped some commercial buildings in the town itself.

Vermont Business Magazine Two weeks to the day that the Senate initially passed the paid sick leave bill (Healthy Workplaces bill H187) and a week after an unusual re-visit of it by the Senate, the House passed the bill today (81-64) and will send it on to the governor for his signature into law. The bill was amended slightly by the Senate to reduce the impact of the act on very small businesses. Small businesses with five or fewer employees will not be required to offer paid sick days until 2018. An amendment to exempt small businesses entirely failed. H187 passed the House last year on a vote of 72-63. The House fought off several amendments to help very small businesses or expand who is covered. 

Governor Peter Shumlin, Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell, and House Speaker Shap Smith issued the following statement after the House passed paid sick days legislation. 

Vermont Business Magazine USA Today has teamed up with members of the US Snowboarding team on their search for the North America’s best terrain parks for the annual Reader’s Choice 10Best. A multi-week voting battle ensued for resorts East and West – from 670 acre Stratton Mountain Resort to 7,165 foot Whistler-Blackcomb. Stratton Mountain Resort pulled ahead of West coast powerhouse resorts, claiming the number 5 spot and second best terrain park in the East. The award coming just before Stratton’s Annual Vermont Open – the only open snowboarding competition in the East and recently recognized as a Vermont Chamber of Commerce Top 10 Event, which invites snowboarders of all ages to compete in a variety of terrain park courses.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine As part of the effort to reduce pollution in the state's waterways, and in particular Lake Champlain, agricultural and environmental leaders want to better manage agricultural water management with respect to what is commonly known as "tile drains." On Tuesday, they issued an interim report on the agricultural practice. Ceramic pipes are no longer installed to capture surface or subsurface water on fields, but the system of now corrugated, perforated plastic pipes is still referred to as tile drains (According to the 2012 agricultural census, 4.8 percent of Vermont's total acres used for cropland is drained using either random/target or pattern/systematic systems.) Tile drains can help make planted fields more productive and even help manage runoff, but they can also send excessive water and nutrients into waterways.

Vermont Business Magazine In a filing with the Public Service Board today, Vermont Gas has submitted a rate decrease for its customers of 3.3 percent, set to take effect later this year. Vermont Gas has already lowered rates by more than 20 percent since January 1, 2012, saving the average family almost $300 per year.  Today’s rate decrease filing is subject to Public Service Board approval.  The company will make the case for lower rates before the Board later this year.

“Lower energy costs is great news for our existing customers in Chittenden and Franklin Counties and for our new customers in Addison County,” said Don Rendall, President and CEO of Vermont Gas. “We made a commitment to keep rates low and stable for customers and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, in partnership with the Vermont Farm to School Network, announced the recipients of the 2016 Vermont Farm to School grant awards at a special ceremony in the Statehouse cafeteria last Wednesday. The Vermont Farm to School Grant Program, now in its tenth year, works to improve nutrition among Vermont’s children by connecting food producers to their local schools, as well as providing enriched educational experiences and curricula.  The grant program was established through the 2006 Rozo McLaughlin Act. Farm to School grant funding, allocated by the Vermont legislature, enables Vermont schools to engage students in their local food system by incorporating local food and farm education into their cafeterias, classrooms and communities.  As of January 2016, the Vermont Farm to School Program has reached 120 schools, impacting more than 30,000 Vermont students.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) announced Tuesday that UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS) received $15.8 million in funding for health usage monitoring systems (HUMS) for Department of the Navy helicopters built in Vermont. The HUMS are part of the US military’s ongoing effort to provide more accurate diagnostics of aircraft component conditions, which improves overall readiness while lowering costs. The two contracts are split between the US Navy’s fleet of MH-60 Seahawk, and the US Marine Corps UH-1Y Super Huey and AH-1Z Viper.

Vermont Business Magazine The Green Mountain Care Board has approved Copley Hospital’s Certificate of Need (CON) application to build a new surgical suite to replace its existing surgical suite which was built in 1979. The $12.5 million project in Morrisville integrates all aspects of Copley’s surgical program into one suite, making every patient’s path toward optimum healing as easy and supportive as the experience can be and includes a dedicated waiting area for families. The project involves new construction to build the integrated Surgical Suite, renovation to the Outpatient Services Center’s Infusion Suite, and modifications to repurpose the current Operating Room (OR) space.

Site work will begin this spring, with construction of the new Surgical Suite expected to be completed in December 2017.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont, as might be expected, has a relatively low rate of kicking children out of school, but while nationally racial divides exist, it is not consistent from state to state. A new KIDS COUNT data report shows that black and American Indian kids are more likely to be suspended — and much more likely to be expelled — from school than their white, Latino or Asian classmates. Black and American Indian kids are more likely — and in some instances much more likely — to be suspended and expelled from public school compared to their white, Latino and Asian classmates.