A Note from Rob Williams at Vermont Yankee
February 3, 2010
Here is a statement from Entergy Corporation:
Entergy Corporation Outlines Steps to Restore Trust of Vermonters
Former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Appointed to Serve as Team Leader on Vermont Yankee
Initial Measures Will Facilitate Greater Transparency, Address Tritium Contamination and Other Concerns
In response to numerous concerns and issues that have been raised by Governor Douglas, Vermont Department of Public Service Commissioner O’Brien, state and federal legislative leaders and the public at large, Entergy Corporation has pledged to place the highest priority on restoring trust with Vermonters.
Curt L. Hébert, Jr., a past chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been designated to lead a team of Entergy specialists addressing Vermont Yankee matters. Hébert serves as Entergy’s executive vice president for external affairs and reports directly to J. Wayne Leonard, Entergy’s chairman and chief executive officer.
The team has already begun to meet with public, business, labor and civic leaders in Vermont. Two Entergy officials with long experience in Vermont will play expanded roles on the team. They are Brian Cosgrove, who will manage relations with state government, and Larry Smith, who will coordinate communications and media relations.
Among members of the team are Arthur Wiese, Entergy Corporation’s vice president for corporate communications; Kenneth Theobalds, vice president for government relations for Entergy’s Northeastern nuclear operations; Donald Vinci, vice president of business development for Entergy Nuclear; James Steets, vice president for Northeastern nuclear communications; and Allison Graves, director of federal energy policy.
“This situation needs to be fixed and through Curt’s leadership and direct engagement with Vermont leaders, I have every confidence it will be fixed as quickly as possible. We must and will do better. Entergy’s own standards, and our duty to Vermonters, demand it,” said Leonard.
“Entergy values and deeply respects our relationship with the state of Vermont and its business community and we are committed to Vermont for the long-term. Since buying the plant in 2002 we have made more than $190 million in long-term investments at Vermont Yankee to make it a world-class nuclear facility,” said Hébert.
“We are placing the highest priority on finding the cause of the tritium and remediating any contamination. At the same time, we must reconcile the conflicting statements made to the Department of Public Service. To this end we have engaged the services of an independent, outside law firm to fully investigate the matter, and most importantly, to make sure it does not happen again,” said Hébert.
The work of the specialized team dedicated to the company’s interaction with the Vermont officials is concurrent with Entergy’s ongoing investigation to identify the source of the elevated tritium concentrations in monitoring wells. That investigation is overseen by Entergy Nuclear senior management, including Michael Balduzzi, senior vice president and chief operating officer, and Timothy Mitchell, senior vice president for engineering and technical services.
Entergy Corporation reiterated a number of other steps it is taking to address these matters, including the following items.
· Entergy retained an outside law firm to conduct a thorough, independent investigation pertaining to the company’s communications with the Vermont Department of Public Service.
· Entergy is cooperating with all state and federal inquiries that the relevant agencies are conducting.
· Entergy has installed additional testing wells at Vermont Yankee to monitor for tritium and increased the frequency of testing in order to conclusively determine the source of the tritium so that a remediation plan can be proposed to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
· Entergy has dispatched a project team of more than 20 highly skilled professionals to Vermont Yankee to ensure a fast, comprehensive assessment of the tritium situation.
· Entergy has unequivocally acknowledged its responsibility for the controversy. One Entergy executive involved has issued a public apology. He has been permanently relieved of his Vermont responsibilities and placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the full investigation.
