Vermont Business MagazineAttorney General William HSorrell, the Department of Public Service, and two utilities filed aPetitionWednesday with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), asking the NRC to undertake a comprehensive review of Entergy’s planned uses of the Vermont Yankee decommissioning trust fund. Under NRC regulations, the Vermont Yankee trust fund can be used only for decommissioning expenses. “This trust fund is for cleaning up the Vermont Yankee site,” said Attorney General Sorrell. “We think the NRC needs to hold Entergy to that promise. The NRC should look at withdrawals from the fund holistically and with public participation in the decision-making process. This trust fund must be protected to ensure the site is cleaned up.”
Department of Public Service Commissioner Christopher Recchia noted his support for this latest effort to safeguard the Vermont Yankee decommissioning fund: “We want the NRC to protect Vermont ratepayers’ interest in this fund,” Recchia said. “Especially in light of Entergy’s recent announcements regarding the upcoming closure of the Pilgrim and Fitzpatrick nuclear plants, the NRC needs to start taking these matters more seriously and provide a comprehensive and participatory process for reviewing requests to use decommissioning funds,” he added.
The Petition states in part: "The purpose of this Petition is to have one authority—the Commissioners or a designated Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB)—address Entergy’s interrelated requests in a coordinated manner. Such a proceeding is necessary to ensure adequate protection of public health and safety during the legally required decommissioning of Vermont Yankee. Without such a coordinated approach, Entergy may be allowed to seriously compromise the adequacy and integrity of the Decommissioning Fund.
"A coordinated approach also is essential to meet the Commission’s obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Commission must undertake a NEPA review to evaluate the significant potential environmental and economic consequences associated with the major federal action of allowing Entergy to divert hundreds of millions of dollars from the Decommissioning Fund."
The Petition was also joined by the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation and its current owner, Green Mountain Power Corporation. The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation is the previous owner of the Vermont Yankee plant. It collected the principal funds that (with interest) constitute the entirety of the Vermont Yankee trust fund. Green Mountain Power Corporation, and through it their Vermont ratepayers, have a 55% interest in all monies that remain in that fund following completion of decommissioning. Thus, as the Petition notes, when the NRC allows improper uses of the Vermont Yankee trust fund, it directly harms Vermont ratepayers.
In August 2015, the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Public Service, and these two utilities also filed alawsuitat the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. That lawsuit directly challenges the NRC’s decision to grant an exemption allowing Entergy to use the Vermont Yankee decommissioning trust fund for spent fuel management expenses. The Petition filed yesterday explicitly asks, among other things, that the NRC reverse its earlier decision to grant Entergy that exemption from NRC regulations.
Published: Nov 6, 2015