There was no indication this week that critics would file appeals against the state’s certificate of public good for a second spent fuel storage pad at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station.
The nongovernmental New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution and the Windham Regional Commission had been seen as the only likely protesters. But representatives from both groups said they would not file appeals with the Vermont Public Service Board (PSB). The deadline is Friday.
“I don’t think we’re going to file any kind of motion for reconsideration. The board has shown a reluctance to sink their teeth into this thing,” said Raymond Shadis, a trustee and consulting technical adviser with the New England Coalition.
The Public Service Board “pretty much made the decision the way we figured they would,” said Chris Campany, executive director of the Windham Regional Commission, a public entity that provides governance assistance to local jurisdictions.
In its June 17 certificate, the PSB said the new storage pad would be “in the general good of the state of Vermont,” and would not “create any adverse effects on the environment, including aesthetics.” Power provider Entergy, which closed the facility in December 2014, plans to have all of Vermont Yankee’s spent fuel in dry storage by the end of 2020. The existing storage pad features 13 dry casks, and Entergy plans to spend $145 million on the second pad, which would encompass 45 dry casks holding nearly 3,000 spent fuel assemblies.
The New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution wanted the board to more aggressively reach out to all stakeholders in the tri-state area (Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire) near Vermont Yankee, and supported underground storage of the fuel off-site rather than the on-site-above ground space currently planned. The Windham Regional Commission had expressed concerns that building the storage space near the plant’s power block would complicate decommissioning of Vermont Yankee in future years.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article cited the incorrect deadline for submission of appeals to the certificate of public good.
