NRC Review Meeting Tomorrow Night

Tomorrow night, June 22, at 6 p.m., the NRC will host its annual review meeting for Vermont Yankee. The meeting will be held in Brattleboro Union High School, and there will be an informal meeting starting 4, with the formal meeting starting at 6. Vermont Digger published the NRC press release, and you can also read the official yearly letter from NRC.

Basically, everything at the plant is code green (just fine) as you can see on the NRC website. Also, as I noted in a previous post, the NRC Demand for Information was completely satisfied. The NRC report on its Demand for Information includes piping diagram reviews, staffing reviews, and whether Vermont Yankee had given the NRC complete and accurate information. The NRC was satisfied with all aspects of its Demand for Information review.

Is The Meeting Going to Be Dullsville?

The meeting should be dull. Everything is in order at Vermont Yankee. Everything is green and good to go.

Unfortunately, the anti-s seem to have taken to heart the old lawyer's saying about how to win a case:

• If the facts are on your side, pound on the facts.
• If the law is on your side, pound on the law.
• If nothing is on your side, pound on the table.

Nothing is on the side of the anti-s. Vermont Yankee is up and running well, and the NRC is here to tell about it. The anti-s are left to pound on the table.

In my opinion, that makes them more physically dangerous. With nothing of substance to say, they will resort to street theater. As I noted in an earlier post:

I can understand why the NRC would choose to hold a closed meeting. The public meetings are not just contentious, they can be dangerous. In spring 2009, local activist Sally Shaw attended an open meeting with NRC and Entergy. She walked up to the table and spread manure on papers and into water glasses. Letters-to-the-editor applauded her actions. In a separate incident about Vermont Yankee, the PSB building was attacked with deer-urine.

(By the way, Sally is remains proud of her actions, and chose to continue to trumpet her behavior in the comments of this recent Vermont Digger post.)

I went to an April 19 meeting held by the NRC in Brattleboro. Signs were held up, and there was a bit of shouting, but the presence of several police officers near the front of the room discouraged any more aggressive activity.

Tomorrow Night At Brattleboro

I will be there. Howard Shaffer will be there. The anti-groups will be there in full force, I expect. I have to hand it to them: they are a dedicated bunch and quite happy to come and pound on the table together.

If you are pro-nuclear, come and support Vermont Yankee! I hope to see you at the Brattleboro High School Auditoriium tomorrow night.