Activists want VY decom costs reviewed

By BOB AUDETTE

BRATTLEBORO -- What will be the true cost of decommissioning Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon when the plant closes down, either in 2012 or in 2032?

Two activists opposed to the plant’s continued operation want that question answered and have come up with a unique way to do so.

Last week they turned in a petition signed by 500 Brattleboro residents to the Town Clerk’s Office that could place a resolution on the town ballot asking the state to consider taking the power plant site as an act of eminent domain.

Entergy has applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend the operating license of Yankee for another 20 years, from 2012 to 2032. In addition to NRC approval, Entergy must also receive a certificate of public good from the Public Service Board and the approval of the Vermont Legislature.

The Eminent Domain over Vermont Yankee resolution is an opportunity for Brattleboro voters to demand the state reassess the clean-up costs of the site in Vernon, said Kurt Daims of Brattleboro and Sally Shaw of Gill, Mass.

"The real costs to the public have never been factored in," said Shaw, who wants the state to look at decommissioning from the ground up.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it will cost about $550 million to clean up the site to its standard.

But when Entergy bought the plant in 2002, it promised the state that it would clean up the site to a higher standard that would allow unlimited use of the site post-shutdown.

Some experts have claimed it could cost $1 billion or more to meet the state’s standard.

Clean-up costs for Maine Yankee, in Wiscasset, Connecticut Yankee in Haddam Neck and Yankee Rowe, in Rowe, Mass., were underestimated by 50 to 100 percent, said Daims and Shaw, due to unanticipated contamination of soil and groundwater.

"The owners were allowed to pass these costs to the ratepayers," said Shaw. "If Vermont doesn’t learn the lesson, the cost will fall on all of the ratepayers. It’s happened over and over."

Because a "multi-billion-dollar cleanup is a threat to the public welfare," they stated in a written description of the resolution, the public good trumps the right of private property.

That’s where eminent domain comes into play, said Daims.

If the state were to invoke eminent domain against Entergy, it would pay the company for the site, but only after it has assessed the true costs of cleanup against the purchase price, he said.

"Entergy might even owe money to the state at transfer," stated a written description of the resolution.

"This is a way to provide an alternate assessment of what the costs are," said Shaw.

"The state has our interests closer to heart than Entergy," said Daims. "It can assess the clean-up costs with the public interest in mind."

Both Daims and Shaw believe the voice of the general public hasn’t been taken into account during the relicensing process.

"The process is broken like the plant," said Daims.

"We have been disenfranchised from the decision-making process," said Shaw, whose home is within the emergency preparedness zone surrounding the power plant.

On Tuesday night, the Brattleboro Selectboard will discuss the resolution and whether it should be placed on the ballot.

During its last regular meeting, Daims attempted to present the resolution during the public hearing portion of the meeting, but was thwarted when he was told it was inappropriate to discuss when only four of its five members were present.

Daims said the board’s actions were inappropriate and improper.

"We want the Selectboard to do its lawful duty," said Daims, "and that’s not to protect the plant."

Boards have ruled in the past that some resolutions are not town business but because Brattleboro has official intervenor status in the relicensing procedures, this does become town business, Daims and Shaw contended.

Their attorney believes they have an "absolute and enforceable right" to have the resolution on the ballot.

"This is 100 percent town business," said Daims.

Bob Audette can be reached at [email protected], or at 802-254-2311, ext. 273.