Spotlight on: |
Yankee Bill Vetoed
|
Governor Douglas Vetoes Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Fund
 Favoring corporate interests over Vermont ratepayers, Gov. Douglas vetoed S.373, a bill that would have required Vermont Yankee owners Entergy to guarantee that they will pay all of the costs to safely dismantle the plant when it stops operating. At this point, less than half of the $900 million needed to decommission the plant (1) is in the fund although its license is scheduled to expire in 2012.
According to Clean Energy Advocate James Moore, “The governor is essentially allowing Entergy to pass the burden at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars on to future generations of Vermonters to clean up and decontaminate the company’s mess. It is unconscionable to ask future generations of Vermonters to pay for the cleanup and then in the next breath say how cheap the power is for us today.”
Because it is unacceptable that our Governor is working to protect Entergy’s corporate interests instead of Vermonters, VPIRG will work even harder this summer to close Vermont Yankee on time and make sure Vermonters are not left to pay the costs. We can and must create a safe and clean energy future for Vermont. We know we can win, but we need people from across Vermont to get involved and be active in their own communities! To get involved, email Emily at emily(at)vpirg.org or call 802-223-8421 x4787.
1.http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080508/NEWS01/805080384/1002/NEWS01
In Other News...
Legislature Fails to Override Governor's Campaign Finance Veto by Just One Vote.
 Vermont suffered a major loss in the fight for fair elections when the Vermont House of Representatives failed to override Governor Douglas’s veto of S.278 on Friday, April 25th. The bill would have set reasonable limits on campaign contributions in the wake of the divided US Supreme Court decision to strike down Vermont's landmark campaign finance law in 2006. The 99-51 House vote fell largely along party lines, with all Progressives and all but one Democrat voting to override the veto, and the Republicans unified in their defense of big money in politics.
The Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of the override, with all 23 Democrats joined by three Republicans. Just four Senate Republicans voted to sustain the governor's veto.
One of the key votes in the House belonged to Rep. Daryl Pillsbury (I – Brattleboro), who, despite receiving an unprecedented outpouring of support for the override from his constituents, opted to sustain it. After the vote, Pillsbury admitted to WCAX Ch. 3 that "As soon as I made that vote it's been unreal - but all of a sudden I have a lot of Republican friends."(1) This was after he revealed to the Brattleboro Reformer that he supported the bill for “selfish” reasons. (2)
Another disappointing vote was cast by Rep. Dennis Devereux (R-Windsor-Rutland 1). He helped to craft the bill and voted for it in the House Government Operations Committee. He also defended it on the floor of the House when it was initially passed. But when it really mattered, Devereux lost the courage of his convictions. Instead, he voted against what he knew was a good bill just to protect the governor he knew was wrong.
Despite the House's failure to override, VPIRG is committed to continuing the fight for commonsense campaign finance reform, with the ultimate goal of establishing a voluntary system of public financing similar to what's working so well today in Maine. Since the problem of money in politics isn't going away, neither are we.
1. http://tv3.wcax.com/n/fri6p.htm
2. http://www.reformer.com/ci_9010798?source=most_emailed
Vermont Falling Behind in Global Warming Emissions
 VPIRG has just released a first of it's kind report detailing global warming emissions in Vermont since 1990. This report, entitled
Falling Behind: New England Must Act Now to Reduce Global Warming Pollution, documents a thorough estimate of Vermont’s global warming emissions annually from 1990 - 2005, the most recent year for which full data is available from the federal government about fuel use, agriculture and waste disposal .
The report shows that Vermont will not meet its emissions goals for either 2020 or 2050. There is, however, a silver lining. The year 2005 actually saw a decrease in overall global warming emissions. It is critical that Vermont continue this trend and bills like the recently signed S.209 and the new comprehensive global warming bill S.350 are only two steps towards meeting our carbon cutting goals.
As Bill McKibben said, "It won't take a silver bullet to combat global warming, it'll take silver buckshot."
You can read the full text of the report here or the press release here.
House passes Energy and Campaign Finance Reform Bills. Senate Passes Mammography bill.
 In what can only be described as a landslide, the Vermont State House of Representatives passed S.209 by a vote of 136 to 2 on Wednesday Feb 13th. S.209 is the most current incarnation of the comprehensive global warming and energy efficiency bill. This bill would create an all fuels efficiency program that would save Vermonters millions and mandate more clean safe & affordable renewable energy be produced right here in Vermont.
The House also gave initial approval to a new Campaign Finance reform package (S.278). This bill sets reasonable limits on what individuals, corporations, political action committees and political parties can give to candidates. Those limits range from $500 for House candidates to $2,000 for gubernatorial candidates over the course of an election cycle. The bill had overwhelming tri-partisan support, but Gov. Douglas is still threatening a veto.
On the Senate side, a new bill proposing to set the cost of all mammogram's to $25 dollars passed by a voice vote. This bill provides the women of Vermont with the two most important resources they need in the fight against cancer: availability and affordability.
While seemingly different, these three bills have one critical piece in common: Both serve the public interest in building a stronger Vermont.
Polling Results Call For Clean Energy
 The numbers are in and the people have spoken. Last November and December the Department of Public Service hosted a series of workshops across the state in order to learn what Vermonters have to say about our energy future. The message was loud and clear.
Vermonters supported renewable energy and energy efficiency at every workshop by overwhelming majorities. An estimated 1,000 Vermonters gave up an evening or an entire weekend to be part of directing our energy future. A majority of those polled did not favor nuclear power and were concerned about giving Vermont Yankee a new license for 20 more years. Some early results from the polls show that Vermonters:
- Support greater investment in energy efficiency
- Support increasing our instate renewable energy capacity
- Want to cut our green house gas emissions
- Don’t mind being able to see a wind farm from our homes
- Are deeply concerned about nuclear waste
- And, that we are done with dirty coal and oil generation
While the full report won’t be published until next week, the early numbers all reinforce the message that VPIRG and its 20,000 supports have been fighting for all these years: That home grown clean, safe, & affordable power combined with a strong and growing energy efficiency utility are the way forward for Vermont’s economy and its people. And that dirty, dangerous, and expensive forms of power like coal, nuclear and oil are better fitted as part of our history than as part of our future.
You can read Dave Gram's Times Argus article on the outcome of the hearings by clicking here.
Scoring Catamount Health
 Just released, VPIRG's newest report grading the Douglas Administration on their effectiveness in implementing the Catamount Health plan. Catamount Health promises to be the next step towards quality affordable health care for all Vermonters. Thus, its implementation and execution are critical not only to the success of the program, but to the health of thousands of Vermonters.
The report, entitled Scoring Catamount Health: Examining Vermont’s Progress toward an Equitable Health System, gives the Administration an overall grade of B for its performance since the passage of the Health Care Affordability Act, the landmark 2006 legislation that established the Catamount Health Plan.
You can read the Times Argus exclusive press coverage by clicking here, the VPIRG press release by clicking here, and the full report by clicking here.
Renewable Energy Tax Fairness
 A new VPIRG report finds that the state property tax bills for power producers around the state are significantly uneven between renewable and nonrenewable energy providers. The report provides a snapshot of taxation schemes for Vermont’s electric utilities from 2004 – 2006, which shows that when generation s considered along with total taxes paid, wind producers in the state pay nearly 10 times as much as Vermont Yankee.
The report details the specific property taxes levied on 53 power-producing facilities in the state and provides a detailed comparison of how those tax schemes measure up to each other. It is clear from this report that the most favorable generation tax rates go to one of the worst polluters in the state while the cleanest producers are levied the highest taxes.
Property tax reform must be given serious consideration. State policy makers in Vermont have spoken at length about the valuable role renewable energy providers can play in providing economic growth as well as stable electricity rates to Vermont. As suggested by the Governor’s Commission on Climate Change, one of the major actions needed in order for Vermont to address the issue of global warming is “through a
Climate Change Report Card Released
A report released by VPIRG and the New England Climate Coalition shows that Vermont has lost its leadership role on Global Warming issues. Governmental leaders, both in the US and Canada, committed in 2001 to reduce their global warming pollution back to 1990 levels by 2010 and 10% below 1990 levels by 2020. The regional report card, which grades each state or province on their progress towards meeting these goals, shows Vermont near the back of the pack.
Get more information here. Read the full report card here.
The Agency of Natural Resources Begins Thermostat Recycling Project
 This October and November the Agency of Natural Resources is offering $5 of in store credit for old thermostats that contain mercury if you turn them in at your local Aubuchon's, True Value, Ace, Do It Best or participating independent hardware store. If you use the rebate to buy a new programmable thermostat you could save even more money.
“The glass ampoules of mercury that are contained in the older model residential thermostats can be easily crushed in the ordinary disposal process,” said Secretary of Natural Resources George Crombie. “Once exposed, mercury will vaporize and work its way into the food chain. Keeping mercury out of the solid waste stream is critically important for all Vermonters.”
For more details on the thermostat rebate program and proper disposal of other household products containing mercury, go to www.mercvt.org. For any other questions on VPIRG's environmental health program please call or e-mail Charity Carbine at 802 223-9421 or charity@vpirg.org.
Polluters Continue to Contaminate Vermont's Waterways 35 Years After the Clean Water Act
 More than 50% percent of industrial and municipal facilities across Vermont discharged more pollution into our waterways than their Clean Water Act permits allow in 2005, according to Troubled Waters: An analysis of Clean Water Act compliance, a new report released today by the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG).
“As the Clean Water Act turns 35, polluters continue to foul our rivers, lakes and streams,” said Charity Carbine, VPIRG’s Environmental Health Advocate. “With so many facilities dumping so much pollution, no one should be surprised that nearly half of America’s waterways are unsafe for swimming and fishing. But we should be outraged.”
The goals of the 1972 Clean Water Act are to eliminate the discharge of pollutants into waterways and make all U.S. waterways swimmable and fishable. Over the last three and a half decades, this landmark environmental law has made significant improvements in water quality, but the original goals have yet to be met.
You can read the full report by Clicking Here and VPIRG's Press Release by Clicking Here.
|
