[johnnybc]

Anybody know the latest on closing Vt Yankee Power, do we wait for a vote in 2012 or what?

[MRVphotog]

No need to wait...

"In a rare case of state involvement in nuclear regulation, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 yesterday to block a license extension for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, citing radioactive leaks, misstatements in testimony by plant officials, and other problems"...this was several months ago.

I support building new plants but this plant, no one trusts it's safety or the company and management that operate it.

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by MRVphotog

No need to wait...

"In a rare case of state involvement in nuclear regulation, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 yesterday to block a license extension for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, citing radioactive leaks, misstatements in testimony by plant officials, and other problems"...this was several months ago.

I support building new plants but this plant, no one trusts it's safety or the company and management that operate it.

The state has little to no say over it. Just political grandstanding...

[MRVphotog]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

The state has little to no say over it. Just political grandstanding...

Their state license to operate is expiring, without an extension they cannot operate....the state controls their fate.

[DarkWolf]

What will happen to the gird in Vermont , New Hampshire , Massachusetts , & Quebec when the plant is shut down? Will it be able to cope with a loss like that?

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by MRVphotog

Their state license to operate is expiring, without an extension they cannot operate....the state controls their fate.

The feds have the final say not the state.

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

What will happen to the gird in Vermont , New Hampshire , Massachusetts , & Quebec when the plant is shut down? Will it be able to cope with a loss like that?

More prone to outages (dependent on outside sources of power, namely Canada) and more expensive. Look for some major employers here to leave if it's not renewed and a replacement built.

[MRVphotog]

The state just signed a new contract with Hydro Quebec plus additional power is availible from the grid. It will have no effect. The plant has been shut down several times due to many issues and there was no shortage of power when that happened.

The feds have the final say not the state.

The state does determine whether the plant gets it's extension to continue operating. From an article in the NY Times:
"Under Vermont law, any extension of the plant’s license beyond 2012 would have to be approved by both houses. Unless the Senate reverses itself and the House also approves an extension, the plant must close by March of 2012."

From another article:
"The plant's licence to operate runs out on March 21, 2012. In order to operate beyond that date both the Vermont Public Service Board and the legislature would need to vote to authorize an extension. This situation arose as part of the deal that Entergy signed with the state when it acquired the plant in 2002."

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by MRVphotog

The state just signed a new contract with Hydro Quebec plus additional power is availible from the grid. It will have no effect. The plant has been shut down several times due to many issues and there was no shortage of power when that happened.



The state does determine whether the plant gets it's extension to continue operating. From an article in the NY Times:
"Under Vermont law, any extension of the plant’s license beyond 2012 would have to be approved by both houses. Unless the Senate reverses itself and the House also approves an extension, the plant must close by March of 2012."

From another article:
"The plant's licence to operate runs out on March 21, 2012. In order to operate beyond that date both the Vermont Public Service Board and the legislature would need to vote to authorize an extension. This situation arose as part of the deal that Entergy signed with the state when it acquired the plant in 2002."

Don't let the politicians (like Shumlin who admits he relies on his mouth rather than brains) kid you, being dependant on Quebec power is going to cause serious issues. The increased rates, lowered reliability, etc. IBM has already commented on it and not in a positive way either. Some major employers will probably pull out of the state if the plant isn't allowed to operate until a replacement is available.

Second, federal law trumps state law here. The Vermont Legislative Circus has little to no say on the matter. I'm almost willing to wager that, barring any major problems popping up at the plant, the plant will be operating past 2012. The NRC hasn't found any significant problems with the reactor. All the politicians/enviro groups were just fear mongering.

[68vette]

Below is some legal information that I found. The way I read this information, the state can vote to shut the plant down and will have to prove it's case to the NRC. The NRC will then decide if there is enough evidence to shut the plant down. The Tritium leak was small. I believe they stated the level was less than the Tritium exposure a person would get from a scope.
The plant never has shut down. You can't turn a nuclear reactor off. In the past when there were issues at the plant, output was decreased. When and if the plant closes, the plant will not just shut down and then get torn down. The plant will be there for some time. The Maine Yankee plant took 8 years to decommission after the NRC took 2 years to investigate the issues. The NRC staff identified so many problems that the expense of repairing them became untenable. In the end Maine Yankee Atomic Power Co. decided it would be too costly to correct these deficiences to the extent required by the NRC and decided to shut the plant down. We will have to see what happens between the NRC and the state. Another obsticle is the current president. He is very much in favor of nuclear power. I wonder how much influence he will have on the current plant or a new plant.


Nuclear power plants are extensively regulated by the federal government under the Atomic Energy Act, 42 U.S.C.2011 et seq. (AEA), chiefly through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). State regulation of operation and safety at such plants is generally preempted. Pacific Gas and Electric v. Energy Resources Comm'n., 461 U.S. 190,103 S.Ct. 1713, 75 L. Ed 2d 752 (1983).

Federal preemption of state law can be expressed or implied.

"Federal statute implicitly overrides state law either when the scope of a statute indicates that Congress intended federal law to occupy a field exclusively... or when state law is in actual conflict with federal law. [The United States Supreme Court has] found implied conflict preemption where it is impossible for a private party to comply with both state and federal requirements... or where state law stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress." (citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted) Dowling v. Slotnick, 244 Conn. 781, 795, 712 A.2d 396, 405 (1998), citing Freightliner Corp. v. Myrick, 514 U.S. 280, 287, 115 S. Ct. 1483, 131 L. Ed. 2d 385; Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp., 464 U.S. 238, 248, 104 S. Ct 615, 78 L.Ed. 443 (1984); Kenny v. Kenny, 226 Conn. 219, 224, 627 A. 2d 426 (1993), Times Mirror Co. v. Division of Public Utility Control, 192 Conn. 506, 510-11, 473 A. 2d 768 (1984).

There is no express preemption in federal law of a state's right to enforce its occupational licensing laws and, as the following discussion demonstrates, there is not any implied preemption either.

Despite the breadth of federal regulation of nuclear power plants, not every state law that may affect the operations at such plants is preempted. Referring to the federal preemption under the AEA, the United States Supreme Court stated, "for a state law to fall within the preempted zone, it must have some direct and substantial effect on the decisions made by those who build or operate nuclear facilities concerning radiological safety levels."