VPIRG calls for closing Vermont Yankee in 2012

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Vermont Public Interest Research Group said Tuesday it has collected more than 12,000 signatures onpostcards calling for Vermont Yankee to close when its licenseexpires in 2012.

VPIRG held a news conference to make the announcement outsidethe Statehouse, where lawmakers are expected to decide in their2009 session whether the state's lone reactor, which is located inVernon, should be authorized to seek a 20-year license extension.

"One of the best ways to gauge public opinion is to go out andactually talk with people, face to face and door to door," saidBen Walsh, who helped to run VPIRG's summer campaign office.

"We've done that from one end of Vermont to the other, and I can tell you that from Grand Isle to Brattleboro, Vermonters are ready to make the switch...

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VPIRG: 12,000 urge closing of Vt. Yankee

August 20, 2008

By Daniel Barlow Vermont Press Bureau

MONTPELIER – The Vermont Public Interest Research Group announced Tuesday that 12,000 state residents signed onto its campaign opposing the relicensing of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.

The Montpelier-based advocacy organization said thousands of postcards from Vermonters opposing the Vernon nuclear facility and supporting renewable energy will be mailed out to lawmakers this fall and winter.

The postcards read, "It's about time Vermont Yankee retired" and will come just before the Vermont Legislature returns to the Statehouse for a new session, during which...

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Shut Down Vermont Yankee?

Montpelier, Vermont - August 19, 2008

A group opposed to Vermont Yankee has collected more than 12,000 signatures calling for the nuclear plant to shut down. It comes at the same time Yankee is launching a PR campaign to say why it should stay open.

This clash is all in advance of what will be a big issue at the statehouse: should Yankee be relicensed and operate for another 20 years after it's license expires in 2012? Both sides are trying to win over the public and get lawmakers attention.

"This is a grassroots campaign," says Paul Burns, of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group.

VPIRG spent the summer knocking on doors in 112 towns. They say of the 29,000 Vermonters contacted, 12,000 agreed to sign a postcard to send to lawmakers calling for the shut down of Yankee.

"Each card represents a Vermont family looking for change in the way we generate power and they are coming from families...

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Nuke watchdog groups say it's time to close Vermont Yankee

July 19, 2008

MONTPELIER – Two nuclear watchdog groups called for the immediate shutdown of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant on Friday, saying the latest failure at the Vernon facility is one too many.

Members of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group and the Citizens Action Network (CAN) said at a Statehouse press conference that they have lost all faith in the ability of state and federal regulators to monitor the nuclear plant.

They also called for the firing of whomever was responsible for approving the faulty fix to last year's cooling tower collapse, which officials believe led to another tower springing a significant leak earlier this month.

"Not even one year ago we got the first pictures of the catastrophic failure of one of Vermont Yankee's two cooling towers," said Paul Burns, the executive director of VPIRG. "After an event like that, you would have thought that the repairs made to the cooling towers...

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Problems at Vermont Yankee shake public confidence

Friday July 18, 2008

(Host) Critics of Vermont Yankee say the most recent problems with the nuclear plant's cooling tower show a disturbing pattern of poor management and lax state oversight. But state officials say they're not getting the cooperation they need from the plant's operators.

VPR's John Dillon reports:

(Dillon) The past week has further shaken public confidence in the 36-year-old nuclear power plant. A week ago, Yankee had to cut power by 75 percent because a pipe carrying cooling water from the Connecticut River began leaking 60 gallons a minute.

The problems came almost a year after a cooling tower collapsed at the plant. Yankee has acknowledged that the subsequent repairs were insufficient - and led to the recent problems.

But Paul Burns of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group says the state's oversight is also inadequate.

(Burns) "The state claims to have responsibility over the reliability issues at that plant. Why the heck are they not responsible for this? Why were they not in a place to say, `OK, this design fix makes sense to us.' It ought to last more than 11 months. That is insane that you are back here today, less than one year after that catastrophic failure, and you're essentially running into...

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NRC sends top official to Vermont Yankee

July 15, 2008

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission took the rare step Monday of sending its highest-ranking staff member to Vernon to monitor an agency investigation into a new cooling tower leak at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.

Bill Borchardt, the agency’s director of operations, arrived at the plant owned by Entergy Nuclear on Monday evening. He will oversee the inspection and consult with plant officials, NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said.

James Moore, an energy advocate for the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, questioned whether the new leak is evidence that Entergy Nuclear is cutting corners when it comes to maintenance procedures at Vermont Yankee.

“It makes one wonder where else they’ve cut corners,” Moore said. “There seems to be a culture of not doing everything it takes to fix and secure that facility.”

Moore said he is wary of the state and NRC investigations into the leak because he views state and federal regulators as too invested in seeing the plant relicensed for an additional 20 years. He said Vermont Yankee is the 10th-oldest operating nuclear power plant in the nation and should be shut down permanently.

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Vermont Yankee reduces power

July 12, 2008

A leak was discovered Friday in one of the cooling towers of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, prompting the company to cut down to 47 percent of its operating capacity and launch an investigation into the cause.

The incident raised concerns about how something could go wrong with a cooling tower that was inspected and repaired just last year following a dramatic collapse of a companion cooling tower at the Vernon plant.

Vermont Yankee owner Entergy Nuclear has applied for permission to run the plant for another 20 years. The state Public Service Board this month opened proceedings to consider whether it should grant a certificate of public good. Entergy also needs the state Legislature’s permission to keep operating after 2012. Lawmakers are expected to consider that next year.

James Moore, clean energy advocate for the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, is among those who opposes continued operation of the plant. He said Friday’s leak is another reason why the plant should be shut down.

“They assured Vermonters that following last year’s tower collapse they did an overhaul and repairs,” Moore said. “At some point we need to say enough is enough.”

Moore said he doesn’t trust Vermont Yankee’s description of the leak as “small” after last year’s tower collapse. “The fact is their credibility on what’s a small leak is...

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