Several parties to the state regulatory review of the sale of the shuttered Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant on March 9 called for approval of the new memorandum of understanding that lays out financial-assurance and site-restoration commitments for the deal.
All but one of the parties to the Vermont Public Utility Commission proceeding agreed to the MOU on March 2. The commission will rule on the document in deciding whether to allow utility Entergy to sell the plant to NorthStar Group Services for decommissioning, site restoration, and spent fuel management.
Entergy closed the single-reactor facility in December 2014. The prospective owner says it can finish decommissioning as early as 2026 at a cost of roughly $811 million, which would be decades earlier and millions of dollars cheaper than the plan previously laid out by Entergy.
The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources “believes the agreement embodied in the MOU, if adopted by the PUC, will help ensure a timely and effective decommissioning and restoration in a manner that is protective of human health and the environment and that will allow for productive future use of the Site in an expedited manner,” Charles Schwer, director of the agency’s Waste Management and Prevention Division, said in testimony filed with the commission.
The state Attorney General’s Office and Public Service Department also agreed to the MOU, along with Entergy, NorthStar, the New England Coalition, Elnu Abenaki Tribe, Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, Windham Regional Commission, and the town of Vernon Planning and Economic Development Commission. The sole holdout among the parties was the Conservation Law Foundation.
“The Town of Vernon requests that the Public Utility Commission approve the multiparty Memorandum of Understanding,” Robert Spencer, chairman of the town’s Planning and Economic Development Commission, said in his own prefiled testimony. “It is the Town’s position that a prompt cleanup of the Vermont Yankee site to Town Plan, backed by significant financial assurances, with further the interests of the Town.”
At least three representatives of the Department of Public Service also filed testimony in support of the MOU.
The memorandum of understanding commits Entergy and NorthStar to an extended list of financial and cleanup measures intended to allay concerns about the sale. These include: a NorthStar financial assurance package encompassing decommissioning and site restoration trust funds transferred from Entergy, $400 million in performance bonds, and a $140 million support agreement; establishing a $55 million escrow fund for unanticipated expenses; designated radiation dose limits; and adherence to applicable environmental and health rules during remediation.
March 9 was the deadline for parties to submit prefiled testimony. The PUC proceeding, including filing of additional documents and public and evidentiary hearings, will continue at least into May. Entergy and NorthStar hope to secure approval from the commission by July 31 so they can complete the sale by the end of 2018. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission must also approve the sale.
Separately, the Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel has scheduled its next meeting for Thursday, March 22. Agenda items include an overview of the memorandum of understanding, an update from Entergy on decommissioning operations at Vermont Yankee, and discussion of the commission’s yearly report to the Vermont Legislature.
