At this point, Vermont Yankee has asked the Public Service Board for a Certificate of Public Good.The Public Service Board is accepting comments on the Vermont Yankee docket today (March 6) and tomorrow (March 7). The Public Service Board docket on Vermont Yankee is at http://psb.vermont.gov/docketsandprojects/electric/7440 and the form for sending comments is at http://psb.vermont.gov/docketsandprojects/public-comment?docket=7440
As I wrote in an earlier post, the Board is contemplating a pocket-veto of Vermont Yankee (gosh, we didn't rule by March 21, too bad!). Or possibly, forbidding Vermont Yankee to store more fuel, which would also cause the plant to shut down. You can read the Board's questions to Vermont Yankee at my web site, or within the PSB docket as above.
Send a form
It is best to keep your comments short and to the point. If you have several points to make, send several comments.
My pocket-veto comment
As a citizen of Vermont, I urge you to take the high road and NOT attempt to pocket-veto Vermont Yankee's operations. Please obey your own laws, particularly the one that says "3 V.S.A. § 814 ....an existing license does not expire while a timely and sufficient application for renewal is pending relate to these explicit commitments and orders"
Treat the Entergy docket according to the same laws you use for other dockets: a certificate is still good until a new ruling takes place.
My fuel storage comment
It appears that you may be contemplating attempting to limit Vermont Yankee's operations by limiting spent fuel storage at the plant. You claim that "it appears that this (spent fuel) provision has not been pre-empted by the district court."
I urge you to read the entire ruling by the judge, rather than interpret it line-by-line for your own purposes. The major thrust of the ruling is that a state cannot regulate radiological safety. There is no reason to regulate spent fuel storage EXCEPT for concerns with radiological safety. Without radiological concerns, a spent fuel cask can be described as a cylinder of concrete containing ceramic pellets.
Don't regulate on radiological safety. You will be rather quickly overruled by higher courts, and you will waste the taxpayers money.
Send your comments here, too
Send a copy of your comment to this blog to be posted in the comment area. Then others can be inspired, also!
Fuel management (including storage) is an aspect of plant operations, and as such I would guess that the Vermont PSB does not have purview in this area. Ultimately, for nuclear plants, operational aspects are dictated by safety considerations, and the court decision affirms NRC jurisdiction in that area. I am not a lwayer, and I don't live in Vermont, but my impression is that the "Certificate of Public Good" is basically a finding that whatever activity is being addressed has, on balance, a positive impact on the citizens of Vermont. On that basis, it has to be a slam-dunk in favor of VY. No deaths or injuries from plant operations, very little environmental impact, extremely high reliability, the product is useful and affordable, economic impact (jobs) is positive. I don't see how they can rule otherwise without blatantly violating their own rules and placing political considerations ahead of the public good.
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