The Decommissioning Panel and the Three Conspiracies

Not a Conspiracy

Okay, I have to start by saying there are no real conspiracies about the Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel.  But still...

Sometimes, you know, you just gotta laugh.

The First Conspiracy: Two Meetings Scheduled!

The first meeting of the Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel (VNDCAP) will be held at Brattleboro High School on Thursday, September 25, from 6 to 9 p.m.  One panel member is New Hampshire State Senator Molly Kelly, who represents the New Hampshire towns closest to the plant.

At the very same time as the VNDCAP meeting, a different meeting was planned in New Hampshire, on the same subject. As described in the Reformer, the New Hampshire meeting would involve New Hampshire officials and representatives from New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

And here comes the first conspiracy theory. Green Mountain Daily is a website that is steadily against Vermont Yankee. One of their writers, Sue Prent, describes herself as "associated with Fairewinds Energy Education." (Fairewinds is Maggie and Arnie Gundersen's company.)  In her article There's a meetin' tonight: there's a meetin' tonight, Prent writes about the overlap in meetings. She notes that the conflicting meetings "would be a shrewd way to ensure that the well-organized effort that opposed Vermont Yankee's continued operation would not have a full-strength presence in public discussions of decommissioning issues."

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have our first conspiracy. Well, at least we have our first conspiracy theory.

Second Conspiracy: Only One Meeting

Howard Shaffer had hoped to be the New Hampshire representative to VNDCAP.  When Senator Molly Kelly was appointed to that position, he offered to help her. Shaffer realized, looking at the two meetings, that Senator Kelly could not be in two places at the same time.  He alerted people in New Hampshire about the situation. Perhaps due to his efforts, the New Hampshire meeting was postponed.

Shaffer then commented on the Green Mountain Daily post, noting that people might look for human error before looking for conspiracies.  Ms. Prent quickly wrote two snarky replies. Shaffer answered her as follows: Now that the Hinsdale meeting has been cancelled, where is the conspiracy?  I know!  Get the antis all together in one place so they can be identified! (There's always a conspiracy somewhere!!)

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have our second conspiracy theory.  This one is tongue-in-cheek, however.

Third Conspiracy: Exclusion by Religion?

Shaffer is planning to go to the meeting in Brattleboro.  I will not go.  The meeting is on Rosh Hashanah, one of the Jewish High Holidays.  This is clearly a third conspiracy, to exclude people like me!

The above sentence is a joke. I am sure the meeting date is not a conspiracy.  It is clear from everything written above that these meeting planners are a gang that can't shoot straight.  They probably would not have noticed if they had scheduled the meeting on Easter.

A Good and Sweet New Year

I wish all my readers and all my friends--- a good and sweet New Year.

Rosh Hashanah foods and Shofar

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End Note: Background about the Advisory Panel Meeting

The first meeting of the Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel (VNDCAP) will be held at Brattleboro High School on Thursday, September 25, from 6 to 9 p.m. There are nineteen members of the panel, including many plant opponents. Entergy and the plant union (IBEW) also have members on the panel.  One panel member is New Hampshire State Senator Molly Kelly, who represents the New Hampshire towns closest to the plant. You can read the list of panel members in the Brattleboro Reformer article Yankee Decomm Panel to Meet Sept 25, and you can read my opinion of the panel at my post about the panel appointments: Good, Bad and Ugly.  Howard Shaffer wrote about the panel at ANS Nuclear Cafe: The Latest Sop to Nuclear Opponents.

Decommissioning Panel and Appointments: Good, Bad and Ugly

Appointments Thick and Fast

With Vermont Yankee shutdown coming soon, the state government is getting busy appointing people to advise about, supervise, and generally harass the decommissioning project.  Okay, okay, maybe that's too strong a way to describe it.  Instead, perhaps I can just borrow the headline from a recent article in the Greenfield, MA, Recorder. Anti-nukers on Vt. Yankee Advisory Panel. 

Well, that was a short blog post.  I guess I can quit now...

No, wait!  I still have things to talk about.  There are good things, there are bad things, and there are...ugly things.

Smiley from Wikipedia

The Good

The New Panel: The old Vermont Nuclear Safety Advisory Panel (VSNAP) is being replaced by the newly-mandated  Nuclear Decommissioning Citizen Advisory Panel.  Howard Shaffer describes the new panel in his blog post at ANS Nuclear Cafe: The Latest Sop to Nuclear Opponents.

(Gosh, the titles of the links aren't getting any better, are they?)

In his post, Shaffer notes that the old panel was pretty much a straight Vermont-Yankee-bashing experience.  The new panel may be better. The panel is larger, and includes representatives from Entergy and from the Vermont Yankee union (IBEW). Also, there will be representatives from neighboring states. Hopefully, the presence of these panel members will keep the panel from being a complete anti-nuclear attack-dog,  the way VSNAP was in the past.   As Shaffer describes it in his post, in the days of the VSNAP panel: The plant was in the position of being a witness to be cross-examined. There was no appeal to the panel’s findings. The meetings were covered in detail by the regional press. The panel, in effect, became a vehicle for anti-nuclear publicity.

With an expanded membership, hopefully the new decommissioning panel will be more than a kangaroo court.

The New Engineer: Vermont has always had a state nuclear engineer to advise the legislator.  In my opinion, Vermont didn't always pick the most qualified person, but that is just my opinion.  To my surprise, the newly-appointed state nuclear engineer is actually a qualified nuclear engineer. Oops, I forgot. The "nuclear engineer" job title has been changed to "decommissioning coordinator."

In the Rutland Herald (reprinted in The Recorder), Susan Smallheer reports about the new hire: Get to know Vt's decommissioning coordinator.  Anthony Leshinskie is a nuclear engineer, who used to work at Palo Verde.  In the article, Leshinskie is quoted as saying that Vermont Yankee appears to be a well-run plant, and he does not see the work force as demoralized. He notes that Entergy is not scrimping on continuous training (which makes the workers more attractive to new employers). Leshinskie said he was concerned that his role would be "anti-nuclear" but is now reassured that his job is technical, not political.

Ray Shadis, a long-time nuclear opponent, doesn't seem completely happy with this appointment. A quote from the Smallheer article:  What Vermont or any ‘reactor-occupied community’ does not need is a bureaucratic pussycat,” said Shadis. (Shadis did not actually accuse Leshinskie of being a pussy-cat, but Shadis is obviously worried about something here.) Shadis emphasized that he believes that  a state nuclear engineer should be a critic.

Frowny 
from Wikipedia

The Bad

Governor Shumlin, the President Pro Tem of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House appointed the six citizen panelists, all of whom are serving three or four-year terms. Vermont Business Magazine names the panelists in the article Shumlin, Campbell, Smith announce appointments to the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel. As far as I can tell, a major qualification for these appointments was that the panelist was opposed to Vermont Yankee.

One of the panelists is David Deen, a legislator with a long history of opposing Vermont Yankee. He claims that the plant overheats the Connecticut River. In this article Deen describes Vermont Yankee as operating under a "zombie" water permit. He claims it has a fifty-five mile thermal plume that extends way downstream, keeping its thermal integrity of heating the river...all the way past the Vernon dam.

A second panelist, Derrik Jordan, is described as "a musician and social activist" by the Speaker of the House, who appointed him.

I don't know everyone on the panel, but I fear that the ones I don't know are probably of the same opinions as the ones I do know. For today, however, enough is enough.

The Ugly

Gargoyle, Wikipedia

Back in the days when the chairman of VSNAP was appointed by  Governor Jim Douglas, a Republican, the VSNAP meetings were a complete zoo.

At one meeting, people came in costume. A costumed man and woman pretended to have sex while pro-nuclear people were speaking, distracting the crowd.  At other meetings, members of the panel paced around and shouted "I am tired of being lied to!" They shouted down  the chairman, who was attempting to keep the panel moving by Robert's Rules of Order.  In another case, a panel member physically wrestled the microphone away from the chairman.

I was pretty naive then, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  But I saw it.

The meetings calmed down when the chairman of VSNAP was appointed by Governor Shumlin. There was no longer a reason to intimidate him or her. When the chairman was appointed by Shumlin, it meant that the agenda could be followed, with minimum interruptions.

My fear of the ugly. Now we have Entergy members and union members on the panel. That could be great or not-great. Great: maybe the new members can contribute.  Not-great: once again, the panel includes people worth intimidating

Will the bad old days come again?  I hope not, but I fear that they may.

Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Board Gives Bad Advice

VSNAP Votes on Decommissioning

 On Wednesday October 16, the Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel (VSNAP) met in Brattleboro to discuss decommissioning Vermont Yankee.  VSNAP is an "advisory panel"  to advise the Vermont legislature.  At the meeting in Brattleboro, William Irwin, Vermont State Radiological Health Chief, made a motion that the plant be decommissioned quickly (basically, prompt decommissioning, not SAFSTOR).  Entergy has announced that they plan to put the plant in SAFSTOR.

Representative Mike Hebert
Speaking to PSB in November

The motion for prompt decommissioning did not pass. In the seven-member panel, several panelists were absent or abstained. The lonely "no" vote came from plant supporter Mike Hebert, the state representative from Vernon. (Vote reported by Dave Gram of AP)

Since the vote failed, VSNAP will meet again tomorrow, this time in Montpelier.  I suppose they will vote again on Irwin's motion. I also suppose it will pass this time, since most of the panel members are appointed by the legislature and the governor's office. Governor Shumlin has always made it very clear he wants prompt decommissioning.

An Imperial Motion Made, but Withdrawn

A Times Argus article by Susan Smallheer (unfortunately it may be behind a paywall) reported on another motion put forward during this meeting by state Senator Mark MacDonald: "MacDonald had initially made a motion that all of Vermont Yankee’s profits, from now until it shuts down, be put into an escrow account to be used toward decommissioning." Senator Mark MacDonald is a fervent (and often noisy) foe of the power plant.

Senator Mark MacDonald (Grey sweater)
at Entergy presentation
Entergy Exhibits, April 2010

MacDonald withdrew his motion when Irwin put his own motion forward, and when Representative Hebert criticized MacDonald's motion.

Apparently MacDonald thinks that if the Vermont Senate passes a law or resolution, then that law is---a perfectly legal law.   For example this would be legal: "We will seize all the profits of this business and force those profits to be used for a good cause."  However, MacDonald chose to withdraw this interesting financial suggestion in favor of Irwin's "safety" suggestion that the plant be decommissioned quickly.

The Advisory Panel

When I posted about these motions on the Save Vermont Yankee page on Facebook, one person commented to the effect that: "That's why VSNAP is an advisory panel. These guys can say anything they want and it doesn't make a bit of difference." That is one way to look at the situation.

More Hearings and a Video

I recommend Howard Shaffer's review of the continuing anti-Vermont Yankee activities in his post The Challenge Continues at ANS Nuclear Cafe.

Andrew Stein's article in Vermont Digger (early September): Entergy May Be Closing Vermont Yankee, but Litigation Goes On. 

I blogged about a previous meeting of VSNAP at ANS Nuclear Cafe-- Vermont State Advisory Panel: Safety Again!

I also recommend this video about Vermont Yankee decommissioning options.
 
WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-
http://www.wcax.com/story/23366835/at-issue-vermont-yankee-decommissioning

Nuclear Blog Carnival 121 Up at Next Big Future, and a Reminder about VSNAP

Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers 121 is up at Next Big Future.  It's a great look the new (LFTRs, reactors and regulation in India, fusion rockets) and the old (carbon database from world-wide fossil plants, the SLYCOR-Corning plant)  and the grid (bicycle chains and Trojan Cows).  Come for a visit!

VSNAP meeting tomorrow

If you are in Vermont, New Hampshire or Massachusetts, please consider attending the VSNAP meeting tomorrow night at Vernon Elementary School. The Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel meeting starts at 6 p.m.  Come early to sign up to testify.  Even if you don't speak, your presence will be a welcome sight for other plant supporters. (You will also be a pleasant sight for people who work at the plant and are required to attend these meetings.) You can read more about it at Two Upcoming Events: VSNAP and ANS.  I will not be at this meeting. Howard Shaffer plans to be there, along with other friends of Vermont Yankee.

Two Upcoming Events: VSNAP and ANS

The First Meeting: VSNAP Meeting on September 10 in Vernon

VSNAP is the Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the July 9 meeting of VSNAP: my post at ANS Nuclear Cafe describes the meeting. Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel: Safety Again!  The discussion was about safety, safety and safety.  The panel spoke as if the lawsuit hadn't happened.

The July meeting was in Montpelier, and poorly attended.  The next meeting will be at Vernon Elementary School at 6 p.m. on September 10.  I expect it to be well attended, because Vernon is near Massachusetts and many people come up from Massachusetts to protest the plant.  Many protesters live in Brattleboro, near Vernon, but even more seem to come from Massachusetts.

Liz Miller
DPS Commissioner

I suggest you come to this VSNAP meeting if you can, but remember that the opponents shout, carry signs, wear funny clothes and masks, and basically enjoy a good round of street theater.  As I wrote about the NRC meeting in Brattleboro, these meetings can be intimidating.  NRC Public Meeting In Brattleboro: The Politics of Intimidation. However, as Howard Shaffer has often said: "Nobody has ever actually hit me."

Also, the VSNAP panel is opposed to Vermont Yankee, and the crowd is opposed to Vermont Yankee.  Therefore, this meeting should be comparatively subdued.  It will be subdued compared to the behavior at an NRC meeting--that's what I mean by "comparatively subdued."

So I do encourage you to attend.

The Panel and The Plant

In June, Liz Miller lost a lawsuit against the NRC.  Miller is the chairperson of the VSNAP panel,  and she is Commissioner of the Department of Public Service (DPS). DPS had joined a local intervenor to sue  the NRC. In their lawsuit, DPS and the intervenor hoped to force the NRC to rescind Vermont Yankee's license. Their suit was based on a water quality permit issue. DPS and the intervenor lost in court.

More recently, Miller  asked the NRC to increase their scrutiny of Vermont Yankee until the NRC's work meets DPS standards for nuclear oversight.  The NRC has been reported as "cool" to her request.

Go to the meeting anyway

For nuclear supporters, this meeting will be fun if you're a masochist.

It turns out that I am invited to a reception that evening, and I won't be at the VSNAP meeting.  I will be devastated to miss it (not really!). Howard Shaffer plans to attend the VSNAP meting.

Why go?  Sheer masochism?  No.  There are reasons to go.

With any luck you might be able to convince the newspapers covering the meeting that the plant has supporters as well as ...um....detractors. Another reason  to attend is that some people from the plant are required to come to these meetings, and they like to see a friendly face in the crowd. You can be that friendly face. Also, Liz Miller is a dedicated plant opponent, but she is also a very nice person who tries to be fair to everyone who speaks.  Her behavior is another pleasant part of the meeting.

The Second Meeting: ANS Meeting in Connecticut on September 13

On the other hand, if you aren't a masochist you will enjoy attending the American Nuclear Society (ANS) Connecticut Region meeting on the evening of September 13.  As a matter of fact, I can guarantee you will enjoy the meeting, because Howard Shaffer and I will be speaking on "how to be a pro-nuclear activist."

This dinner meeting is a regularly scheduled meeting of the ANS, a professional society.  Such meetings are generally not announced to the public: they are only for society members. Guests are welcome, however, by pre-arrangement.  If you are interested in attending, please email me at mjangwin at gmail and I will put you in touch with the meeting organizers.

I hope you can come.  It will be a chance for Howard and me to come south from Vermont and see some of our supporters from Connecticut and other "points South."

Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel Discussion and Carnival Update

The State of Vermont Considers Nuclear Safety

The Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel met on July 9 in Montpelier. They discussed nuclear safety. They quizzed Entergy  about whether they were making adequate changes to the plant post-Fukushima.

Listening, I felt I was in a time warp.  It's almost as if the court case hadn't happened.  It's almost as if the judge hadn't pointed out that Vermont has no jurisdiction about nuclear safety.  It's almost as if  nobody knows that the NRC has sole jurisdiction on that subject.

It's almost as if Vermont never learns.

I posted about the Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel at ANS Nuclear Cafe today: Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel: Safety Again!  Read it to find out about your state government at work.

114th Blog Carnival at ANS Nuclear Cafe

The 114th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers is posted at ANS Nuclear Cafe.  It's a great Carnival with a wonderful set of posts, including a whole bunch of people having fun disproving a study of "cancer deaths due to Fukushima."  I urge you to read the Carnival.

Meanwhile, at this blog, I am going to treat the Carnivals a bit differently.  In the past, I wrote a "pointer post" to the Carnival, along with a summary.   But alas. My pointer posts, however well-crafted, got only about a quarter (or less) of the page count as my regular posts.  So I'm trying something new. A pointer widget!

Dan Yurman was kind enough to supply the widget.  It's the woman with the mask in the right column of my blog.  In the future, within a regular blog post, I will remind people of the widget when a new Carnival gets posted.

I urge people to visit the Carnival.

Important Vermont Yankee Meetings: Updated

Four Important Events

This week, there are four important events about Vermont Yankee. I hope you can get to one or more of them.

Energy Education Project Related Events:

Thursday, February 24. Debate between Howard Shaffer and Arnie Gundersen: "Vermont Yankee: Shut it Down or Keep It Running." University of Vermont Janus Forum at 4 p.m. in the Davis Center at University of Vermont in Burlington. Reception to follow. More information and links available on the debate announcement.

Tuesday, February 22. Meredith Angwin will join Patty O'Donnell and others in a presentation at Bradford at 6:30 p.m: Engineering and Economics of Vermont Yankee. More information available in the meeting announcement.

Hearings (in the Brattleboro area):

Tuesday February 22. Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel (VSNAP) Vernon Elementary School, 6 to 9 p.m. Members of the public can comment, but you must sign up early. There are generally far more comments than time. Sometimes VSNAP hearings include shouting (not just by the public, by the panelists. Also arm-wrestling for the microphone). These hearings are usually interesting events. Be prepared if you go. More information available here.

Wednesday, February 23. Vermont Senate Economic Development Committee on the economics of closing Vermont Yankee. Hearing is at 1:30 to 3:30 at the Brattleboro Retreat Education Center. The hearing will include testimony from local residents of Wiscasset Maine and Rowe, Massachusetts about the effects of closing of the nuclear power plants in those towns. The press release for this event is here.

Great and heartfelt thanks to Suzanne Hobbs of PopAtomic Studios for permission to use the Save Vermont Yankee poster!