Editor’s note: This commentary is by Sandra Levine, who is a senior attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation in Montpelier.
[W]ith communities in Vermont still reeling from the PFOA toxic waste left behind in Bennington, it’s ludicrous not to have sensible, commonplace toxic site cleanup protections in place for Vermont Yankee.
Yet this is likely with the proposed sale from Entergy (the current owner) to newcomer demolition company NorthStar which needs approval from both the Vermont Public Utility Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Vermont state officials and others have already signed on to an agreement to grease the skids for this transfer. However, the slick talk and empty promises being peddled to support the deal mask the very real risk that Vermonters would be left with a toxic mess if something goes wrong. And with Entergy, we’ve seen things go wrong before.
This deal lacks strong and clearly enforceable commitments. “Trust us” shouldn’t be the basis for an agreement, especially when Vermont’s trust was so badly breached by Entergy’s broken promises in the past. Once the property is transferred, NorthStar will have complete control and can keep much important information secret.
At its core, this deal hands over full responsibility – and all the money set aside for cleanup – to a demolition company. That should make anyone nervous. What happens when the money runs out or the cleanup costs more than expected? Currently the money set aside is only about half of what is needed. It might work out fine. But it might not.
This is the first deal of its kind and may become a model for other nuclear plants owned by Entergy, including the Pilgrim Plant in Massachusetts. Yet NorthStar has no experience cleaning up the remains of large nuclear power plants. That reality calls for extra protections to be in place. They aren’t. The agreement lacks solid commitments. This deal is patched together with funny money and empty promises.
The buyer, NorthStar, has little of its own money on the line and will hold the contaminated site in a separate corporation that shields it from responsibility if something goes wrong. Since Vermont Yankee is now closed, it isn’t capable of generating revenue. So NorthStar will make money by draining the cleanup funds. That may be good for NorthStar, but won’t protect Vermonters if the money runs out.
The details of the transfer, including the specific terms of the sale remain a closely guarded secret. The little public information available shows the deal to be a precarious house of cards with shallow, tenuous and unsupported new guarantees. These rely on proceeds from yet-to-be-filed lawsuits, incomplete insurance policies, and guarantees with so many conditions even Entergy representatives called them “convoluted.”
The industry friendly Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently requested more information announcing that they were unable to find that the proposed funding mechanisms were adequate or that there will be sufficient funds available to complete the necessary decommissioning. Vermont officials should heed that concern and not hand over the keys too quickly.
The proposed deal also lets Entergy just walk away from the toxic mess they created. That’s not allowed in the transfer of traditionally contaminated sites – like old military bases –where it’s common for the entity transferring to remain on the hook and be a backup if something goes wrong. Entergy operated this plant for years, including when the plant leaked and contaminated the site and water. If the transfer is such a good deal, why won’t Entergy agree to remain on the hook here in case something goes wrong?
It’s easy to make promises. But those promises need to be backed up with real money. The Vermont Yankee plan leaves Vermonters as the guinea pigs of a shaky new venture.
