[V]ERNON – Federal regulators say they need more information and more time to decide whether Vermont Yankee should be sold to a New York decommissioning company.
The plant’s current and prospective owners, Entergy and NorthStar Group Services, had asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to rule on Vermont Yankee’s proposed license transfer by the end of this year.
But in a letter released Friday, the NRC said NorthStar must answer more questions about its financial plans and technical qualifications. A spokesman said the commission’s review now is expected to extend through March.
“The primary factor for the NRC staff is the need for more information on what constitutes a unique – at least to date – license transfer application,” NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said.
Entergy stopped power production at Vermont Yankee at the end of 2014 and has been preparing the Vernon plant for an extended period of dormancy under which decommissioning could take 60 years.
That time frame could shift drastically, however, if the sale to NorthStar is approved by the NRC and the Vermont Public Utility Commission. NorthStar has promised to clean up most of the site by 2030 and possibly as early as 2026.
The state utility commission’s review of the sale has been prolonged by several months and will extend into 2018. Officials have said the volume of discovery – in which state agencies and others have asked detailed questions about decommissioning plans – is the reason for that extension.
Now, NRC officials also say they need more time.
“Entergy/NorthStar has requested a decision on the application by the end of the year,” Sheehan said. “At this point, however, we are aiming to complete our review by the end of the first quarter of 2018.”
Sheehan’s statements accompanied release of a document in which the commission sought more information on a number of topics related to NorthStar’s plans, including:
• In 2015, Entergy received a regulatory exemption from the NRC to use Vermont Yankee’s decommissioning trust fund to pay for management of radioactive spent nuclear fuel stored at the site.
The NRC wants to know whether NorthStar intends to apply for that same permission. Alternatively, federal officials say the companies should explain why Entergy’s exemption would apply to NorthStar if the plant is sold.
• In its Vermont Yankee proposal, NorthStar has touted a $125 million parent company “support agreement” as a backup source of funding for decommissioning.
The NRC wants more information about how that funding will be adequate for long-term management of Vermont Yankee’s spent fuel. The federal agency also wants to know why NorthStar is using a “support agreement” structure rather than “a parent company guarantee or some other financial assurance mechanism.”
• Federal officials also say they need more details to determine NorthStar’s “technical qualifications” for the Vermont Yankee job.
For instance, the NRC wants information about the “responsibilities and experience of the senior managers” who would be involved in decommissioning.
Additionally, federal officials want NorthStar to better describe its role in past nuclear decommissioning projects, as well as the role its parent company and subcontractors would play at Vermont Yankee.
The NRC wants responses to its questions within 30 days.
NorthStar Chief Executive Officer Scott State said his company “will be promptly answering the limited number of questions posed by the NRC … which are all within the scope of the issues we have been addressing in the state of Vermont (review) process.”
Entergy is reviewing the NRC’s request “and together with NorthStar will respond in a timely manner,” said Mike Twomey, external affairs vice president for Entergy Wholesale Commodities.
Both State and Twomey said they could not comment on the extension of the NRC’s review schedule into next year.
Asked about the timing of the NRC’s deliberations, Sheehan noted the expected length of Vermont’s review.
“We are aware that the state’s certificate of public good review process will also extend into early 2018, and therefore our decision is not the only one pending for the Entergy/NorthStar proposal,” he said.
The NRC also has not yet ruled on two requests to intervene in the federal review of the Vermont Yankee license transfer. In filing those requests earlier this year, Vermont officials and the New England Coalition outlined their doubts and concerns about the deal.
