Current News

Entergy Vermont Yankee is reporting today that one of the newly installed monitoring wells, located just to the east of the nuclear power plant’s condensate water storage tank and some underground piping, appears to be closer to the source of a tritium leak because its concentration is 774,825 picocuries per liter. Vermont Yankee engineers working to identify the source of tritium in the plant’s groundwater are installing new wells closer to several plant structures to further characterize the tritium concentration in the groundwater near equipment and buildings. The continuing sampling of monitoring wells should help the investigation team locate the source. The EPA has set 20,000 picocuries per liter as a safe level for drinking water. To date, the tritium samples have been found only in monitoring wells on site in Vernon, and not in any public wells or the adjacent Connecticut River.

Approximately $20 million in State of Vermont Citizens Bonds will be offered for sale on February 25. The opportunity to purchase the general obligation bonds will be made available first to Vermont residents and businesses. The last Vermont Citizens Bonds offering in March 2009 sold out in less than three hours.
Bonds may be purchased in $1,000 increments and must be bought through a registered broker/dealer. The bonds maturities will range from one to 10 years. The State Treasurer s Office does not sell the bonds directly and does not endorse any particular broker/dealer. Any bonds remaining after Vermonters have had the opportunity to invest will then be made available to retail and institutional investors from outside of the state.

The Vermont legislature is currently considering a proposal by Governor Douglas, which he announced along with members of the Senate Economic Development Committee, to dedicate $8.67 million in available federal stimulus funds for economic development. Part of that proposal would appropriate up to an additional $500,000 to the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing (VDTM) for the promotion of Vermont as a winter destination. At less than 6 percent of the available federal stimulus package, $500,000 is a small portion of those funds but can help tremendously with this winter s tourism economy.

Fitch Ratings has assigned an "A+" rating to Vermont Housing Finance Agency's 1990 single-family housing bond resolution. Fitch has labeled its rating outlook "stable." Fitch's long-term credit ratings operate on a 10-grade scale from "AAA," the highest-quality investment grade bond, to "D," the lowest category junk bond.The resolution, which includes approximately $447 million in outstanding bonds in Series 9 through 27, was created in 1990 and issued bonds from 1990 to 2007. This is Fitch's initial rating assignment for the resolution."We're pleased with Fitch's rating, and think it's a demonstration of the rating agency's faith in the long-term viability of VHFA," said Executive Director Sarah Carpenter. "The loan portfolio consists of 30-year fixed-rate seasoned loans. The majority, 53 percent, is privately insured. The second largest portion, 27 percent, is uninsured with safe loan-to-value ratios of 80 percent or lower.

The America's Great Waters Coalition has designated Lake Champlain a national “Great Water.” A joint project of the National Wildlife Federation and 30 additional organizations, the Coalition was started in December 2009 to preserve the “Great Waters” of America.
After the lake was not recognized on the group's original list of waterways, local lake advocacy group the Lake Champlain Committee joined the Coalition and lobbied to have Lake Champlain added. Local organizations Friends of Northern Lake Champlain and the Business Alliance for a Clean Lake have also joined the Coalition.
Other “Great Waters” are Chesapeake Bay, the Everglades, the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Maine, Long Island Sound, the Mississippi River, Puget Sound, and San Francisco Bay. For a body of water to make the cut, it must be of a certain size, have a restoration plan in place, and have organizations involved with the Coalition.
(Source: Lake Champlain Committee)

In response to numerous concerns and issues that have been raised by Governor Douglas, Vermont Department of Public Service Commissioner O’Brien, state and federal legislative leaders and the public at large, Entergy Corporation has pledged to place the highest priority on restoring trust with Vermonters.
Curt L Hébert, Jr, a past chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been designated to lead a team of Entergy specialists addressing Vermont Yankee matters. Hébert serves as Entergy’s executive vice president for external affairs and reports directly to J. Wayne Leonard, Entergy’s chairman and chief executive officer.
The team has already begun to meet with public, business, labor and civic leaders in Vermont. Two Entergy officials with long experience in Vermont will play expanded roles on the team. They are Brian Cosgrove, who will manage relations with state government, and Larry Smith, who will coordinate communications and media relations.

The January 2010 Mortgage Monitor report, released by Lender Processing Services, Inc. (NYSE: LPS), a leading provider of mortgage performance data and analytics, showed that home loan delinquency rates in the US have now surpassed 10 percent. Factoring in foreclosures in process, according to the data in LPS' database, the total non-current rate sits at 13.3 %. When extrapolated to reflect the entire mortgage industry, this rate indicates that more than 7.2 million mortgage loans are now behind on payments. In addition, an estimated one million properties are now owned by banks. The January 2010 Mortgage Monitor report is an in-depth summary of mortgage industry performance indicators based on data collected as of December 31, 2009.

Governor Jim Douglas today met with 10 other Governors, Cabinet members and high ranking Administration officials to discuss energy policy with President Obama and Vice President Biden. The President and Governor Douglas agreed that a non-ideological, bipartisan approach is necessary to confront the nation’s energy challenges and investments in biofuels, biomass, hydroelectric, nuclear and other clean forms of power, as well as investments for efficiency will be critical to the America’s energy future.
“I appreciate the opportunity to talk with the President on these important issues,” the Governor said. “As Washington debates our national energy policy, Vermont’s lessons and achievements must be part of that dialogue. From in-state efficiency measures to our regional partnerships, like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Vermont is confronting the challenges of energy independence and climate change on many fronts.”

Following four consecutive weeks of decline, weekly unemployment rose slightly. For the week of January 30, 2010, there were 1,072 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, an increase of 50 from the week before. Altogether 14,961 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 126 from a week ago and 1,287 fewer than a year earlier. The Department also processed 5,059 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 127 more than a week ago. In addition, there were 3,370 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program, which is an increase of 162 from the week before. The Unemployment Weekly Report can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/. Previously released Unemployment Weekly Reports and other UI reports can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/lmipub.htm#uc

According to an Associated Press report filed yesterday, Entergy Nuclear has removed a Vermont executive responsible for inaccurate statements made last spring under oath regarding the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. The AP quotes Entergy CEO J Wayne Leopold that the executive was "permanently relieved of his duties in Vermont and placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the full investigation." The AP has identified the executive as Jay Thayer, a former plant manager who was brought back last year to help the Vernon plant get approval for a license extension. He was removed for the inaccurate statements regarding underground piping systems at the plant and then for not following up to correct those statements.

Verizon Wireless Executive Director for State Public Policy, Daniel Mullin, said the company supports efforts by the state of Vermont to ban texting and e-mailing while driving.
Mullin made the following statement today:
“Verizon Wireless commends Governor Douglas and the Vermont General Assembly for supporting a law to not text and drive. With the issue of texting and driving on the minds of many Americans lately, we appreciate the support of the Vermont Legislature on this issue and their efforts in addressing it during this legislative session. As the largest wireless service provider, last year we launched a national ad campaign to bring forth this same message. Drivers must stay focused on the road ahead to ensure safety for others and themselves.”
To learn more about the Verizon Wireless “Don’t Text and Drive” campaign, visit http://aboutus.vzw.com/wirelessissues/driving.html

The law firm of Langrock, Sperry & Wool, LLP has begun a year-long celebration of their 50 years of service in Vermont with a series of charitable contributions known as 50 for the 50th. Each month for the next year, Langrock will be making donations of 50 to charitable organizations throughout Chittenden and Addison counties. The first donation will enable the Addison County Parent/Child Center to distribute 50 welcome baby baskets to new parents in Addison County.
We are heartened by the continued success of the Addison County Parent/Child Center, said Langrock attorney Emily Joselson. In large part due to their efforts, Addison County now has one of the lowest young adolescent pregnancy rates in the country.