But at a recent meeting in Vernon, state Public Service Commissioner Chris Recchia made a bold prediction: He believes the former nuclear plant can be decommissioned sometime in the 2020s, rather than the 2070s.
“There are options to do this sooner, and we should take advantage of them, and we’re working on that. There’s not much more to say than that,” Recchia told the Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel. “I do believe that we will be able to get this site cleaned up and available for other use in the next decade — not five decades.”
“Regardless of what the commissioner says, we are licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and therefore the state really does not have a say in how we operate, which has been borne out by every one of the lawsuits and challenges that the state has brought against us and the NRC,” Cohn said.
Vermont Yankee stopped producing power at the end of 2014. Rather than pursuing prompt decommissioning, plant owner Entergy has opted for SAFSTOR — a period of dormancy under which cleanup can take up to 60 years.
That, along with the long-term presence of spent nuclear fuel on site, has led to concerns that the property will remain off-limits for generations. U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., is among those who have expressed concern about the extended schedule.
But a top NRC official has said SAFSTOR is a “safe and legitimate way to go,” and the federal agency’s current projection of Vermont Yankee’s decommissioning trust fund spending assumes the job will take 60 years.
Entergy’s only commitment to possibly clean up Vermont Yankee sooner was in a 2013 shutdown settlement agreement with the state. In that document, the company pledged to seek NRC permission to start radiological decommissioning within 120 days after making a “reasonable determination” that there is enough cash in the plant’s trust fund to complete the job.
The trust fund, however, seems to be nowhere near that level. While the fund fluctuates due to Entergy’s spending and investment earnings, the account held $574.9 million at last report. Vermont Yankee decommissioning is expected to cost $1.24 billion.
The situation has led some to offer creative solutions. In a recent commentary, New England Coalition trustee Raymond Shadis proposed that Entergy borrow the money now to pursue immediate decommissioning, then repay the loan when the trust fund matures.
Advocates say quicker decommissioning would allow Entergy to take advantage of its current experienced workforce while avoiding long-term cost escalations and other uncertainties that might come with delay cleanup.
A similar idea was endorsed by the citizen advisory panel’s vice chairman, Martin Langeveld, at its Oct. 27 meeting in Vernon. Langeveld questioned “the adequacy of the decommissioning trust fund to ever get the job done” on its own.
“What if (Entergy) could issue sufficient bonds right now … to start this job and get it done over the next six, eight, 10 years?” Langeveld asked. Then, he added, the company could “put the trust fund to work eventually to pay off these bonds.”
“It seems to me it’s a realistic scenario to consider,” Langeveld said.
That led to Recchia’s comments about speeding up Vermont Yankee decommissioning. “I just want to ensure people that we are looking at every opportunity that we have to advance that schedule,” Recchia said.
Recchia also asked panel members and spectators to “bear with us a little bit, because I do think that there’s an opportunity to … hold the owner responsible for cleaning it up sooner.”
In an interview this week, Recchia said he was not making promises at the Vernon meeting. Instead, he cited several reasons for his optimism, including:
• Entergy has pledged to have all of Vermont Yankee’s spent fuel moved into sealed casks by the end of 2020. “Once the fuel is moved, there’s every incentive to get this (site) cleaned up,” Recchia said. “I think that’s true of all parties.”
“If you had this obligation, wouldn’t you want to get it done and be done with it?” he asked.
• Recchia also said he believes the trust fund is “closer than people realize” to being adequate for decommissioning. In addition to money Entergy already has spent, Recchia pointed out that the company has taken out lines of credit — rather than drawing from the trust fund — to cover the $143 million transfer of spent fuel into casks.
• Additionally, Recchia pointed to the NRC’s current process of drafting new decommissioning rules for nuclear plants. State officials have participated in that process, arguing for changes including the elimination of SAFSTOR as a decommissioning option.
“I think we made a persuasive argument that decommissioning should happen as soon as possible after shutdown,” Recchia said.
Those issues aside, there are reasons to be skeptical about faster Yankee cleanup and the state’s potential role in it. For one thing, the plant’s spent fuel is expected to be stored on site for decades, though it’s been suggested that Entergy would be able to pursue a partial release of the site for redevelopment.
Also, Recchia acknowledged he’ll likely be leaving his post when a new governor takes office in January. He said it’s “wishful thinking” that a solution would be in place before he departs.
The bottom line is that, under the current regulatory framework, the state’s lobbying might not amount to much unless Entergy sees fit to change course. “We’re regulated by the NRC and are compliant with all nuclear regulatory requirements,” Cohn said.