FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New England Coalition Moves Public Service Board
to Halt Entergy Vermont Yankee Proceedings
Friday, February 1, 2013
New England Coalition (NEC) today file an extraordinary motion 2013-1-31_NEC_Motion_to_Halt(7862) asking the Vermont Public Service Board (Board) to stay proceedings on Entergy Corporation’s renewed application for a 20-year extension of state permission to operate its Vermont Yankee Nuclear Station in Vernon.
NEC says the Board should take no further action and receive no further evidence on the renewed application until the state’s Supreme Court rules on an appeal being filed by Entergy that could potentially render moot or cancel out current proceedings.
Entergy’s appeal would have the Supreme Court negate Board orders that voided nearly identical proceedings (which were suspended in 2009 pending a legislative vote on the matter) and require the Board to issue a Certificate of Public Good (CPG) (permission to operate for 20 additional years) without further proceedings.
The current CPG docket is scheduled to begin the first of two sets of lengthy technical hearings on February 11th. Entergy, the Department of Public Service, the Agency for Natural Resources and several intervening organizations are set to field more than two dozen witnesses and an equal number of attorneys.
But says NEC’s lead attorney, Jared Margolis, “Since Entergy has decided to appeal the Board’s decision to open the current docket for review of Entergy’s CPG petition, and has asked the Supreme Court to issue a CPG based on the record that was developed in 2009, it would be a huge waste of the public’s resources to continue with the current docket, now that Entergy has put the issue of relicensing before the Supreme Court.”
“This is yet another instance of Entergy attempting to tie up the State with endless litigation” Margolis said “The issue of whether or not it is in the public’s interest to allow Entergy to continue to operate this plant should be determined on a full and fair record, yet despite previously agreeing that the record in the 2009 docket was stale, Entergy has now challenged the existence of the current docket, which may render our efforts wasted. NEC decided it was important to take action to prevent Entergy from wasting the public’s resources yet again.”
NEC’s Technical Advisor, Raymond Shadis, who has submitted expert testimony in the case, quipped, “Entergy wants to have their yellowcake and eat it too. The state and the citizen advocates just can’t afford that.” [1][1]