The Vermont House unanimously supported a bill Tuesday that will require the Louisiana-based Entergy Corporation to pay for decommissioning the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.
The “tri-partisan” bill, H.589, garnered a 139-0 vote on second reading and is expected to pass today and go on to the Vermont Senate for consideration.
H.589 Summary of the Yankee Decommissioning Bill
The bill makes the corporation financially liable for all costs associated with decommissioning the 38-year-old nuclear plant, including the management of spent nuclear fuel.
It also requires Entergy to set up a trust fund for “greenfield” restoration of the plant site. Under the legislation, Entergy must put $10 million into the greenfield trust in 2012 and an additional $10 million in 2017; funding for all of the decommissioning costs must be available by 2032. Vermont Yankee was originally designed to be retired in March 2012.
“Vermonters should not be stuck footing the bill for cleanup once Vermont Yankee shuts down,” said House Speaker Shap Smith. “This bill ensures that Entergy keeps the promise it made to the state in 2002 to restore the site to greenfield condition.”
The total cost of decommissioning is estimated at $900 million, according to Rep. Tony Klein, D-East Montpelier, chair of the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee. Entergy has approximately $448 million set aside for decommissioning, which would be managed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Klein said an option that would allow the nuclear facility to be mothballed for decades, known as Safestor, “would not be part of this scenario.”
The $20 million fund would be used for the express purpose of returning the site to its natural condition.
Not yet estimated are the additional long-term cleanup costs that may be incurred as a result of the tritium leak, which was found at the plant in January. Entergy has paid for the initial clean-up efforts.
Earlier in the legislative session, the Vermont Senate voted to deny Entergy an extension to continue operation of the plant through 2032.
“Never in the history of the entire world has a plant operated more than 47 years,” Klein said.
The bill also requires the owner of the plant to notify the Public Service Board if a parent corporation decides to sell more than 25 percent of the assets of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. Recently, Entergy withdrew its bid to spinoff Vermont Yankee and a handful of other aging nuclear power plants in the Northeast into a limited liability subsidiary known as Enexus.
