A Visit to Vermont Yankee

This week, I attended a tour of the Vermont Yankee plant in Vernon hosted by Entergy.  About 20 legislators attended the tour.  Press and lobbyists were excluded.

All of us had been through security screening the week before the visit.  Apparently my traffic violations were not cause for concern and I was permitted to enter the plant.  I was issued a helmet, safety glasses and earplugs and was able to snap a picture outside the plant.  Once inside, alas, my camera was confiscated.

As a result I cannot show you the dizzying number of buttons, lights and computer screens pouring out graphs.  I cannot show you the repaired cooling towers, the dry cask storage, the spent fuel rods lying at the bottom of the hotel-size pool.  I cannot show you the faces of the employees hoping to keep their jobs.  I stood on top of a nuclear reactor.  I followed directions not to touch anything in radioactive areas.  I had lunch with employees.  “I wouldn’t work here if it weren’t safe,” said a union rep.  A conspicuously pregnant woman chatted with legislators.

By statute, the legislature grants approval for “continued operation” of the plant, however it is the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that has jurisdiction over re-licensing. Many Shelburne residents have contacted me to vote against Vermont Yankee due to safety concerns.  The legislature cannot and must not make decisions based on safety issues.  Nuclear safety is federally regulated and falls to the NRC.  In addition to NRC and legislative approval, Vermont Yankee must receive a “certificate of public good” from the Vermont Public Service Board.

So what is the role of the legislature once a license is issued?  Within the frame of “continued operation,” the legislature can address economic and reliability factors.  Will the prices the utilities negotiate be good for Vermont?  Who bears responsibility if the decommissioning fund is inadequate?  Economically, is Vermont better off with or without Vermont Yankee?  The speed at which these and other questions are answered will determine whether the legislature addresses Vermont Yankee in 2009 or 2010.  As a member of the Energy Committee explained, if the economics work, then we look at reliability.

Other Shelburne residents have expressed concern over closing Vermont Yankee and the impact on global warming.   If we close Vermont Yankee in 2012, would this help speed our transition to renewable energy?  If we close Vermont Yankee in 2012 and are not prepared, are we risking an increase in global warming?   Are we failing our businesses like IBM?

I went back to the State House.  All the lights were on.

February 5, 2009

The State House has been a busy place with many people wanting to weigh in on the issues facing our state in these troubled times.  We are currently spending about 85% of our time in individual committees and this week, agency commissioners visited us to present budget information and the status of recent rescissions.  In addition, over 100 bills have been sent to committees.  I currently serve as clerk on the Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources Committee and have been placed on an additional joint committee to address issues related to Lake Champlain.  I will present this in a later column.  Here are a few highlights from last week:

SCHEDULE CHANGE:  Speaker Shap Smith has informed us that the legislature will be in recess (unpaid) for the first two weeks in March rather than the traditional one week.  Dropping a week in March allows flexibility to add it back in May when we have a clearer picture of the Federal Stimulus Package.  After April 15th, we will be better able to quantify additional revenue downgrades.

APPROPRIATIONS:  The Committee had a full week of testimony on the proposed FY 2010 budget and the Governor’s proposal to cut over 600 state employees. Administration has given the various state agencies targeted employee reduction numbers and a dollar figure.  This will be the fourth round of cuts.

TRANSPORTATION:  The Ethan Allen Amtrak route is still a hot topic in this committee and the hall has been filled with people and groups providing testimony. The possibility of upgrades to the passenger rail tracks between Rutland and Burlington using federal earmarks and stimulus money is being studied.  Across the state, ridership on public transportation has shown a 20% increase over last year. The Committee is also trying to match federal stimulus dollars with transportation projects and to determine the strings attached.

AGRICULTURE:   Pending full House approval, the Agriculture Committee will take on a new topic: “forest-based products and their markets.”  This should help raise the profile of forest products which accounts for $1.2 billion in revenues and is the second largest industry in the state.  I am sorry that I do not have anything to report this week on the recent drop in milk prices.

ENERGY: This week, the Commerce Committee took testimony on spent nuclear fuel, low-level radioactive waste and the decommissioning fund.  I will take a tour of Vermont Yankee this week.

HEALTH CARE:  H100 was introduced last week, the goal being universal access to essential health care services.  The bill proposed to establish health care service in Vermont through a publicly financed, integrated, regional health care delivery system.  You can follow this bill by going to the website: http://www.leg.state.vt.us and plugging in the bill number.