By Susan Keese

(Host) Experts say relocating buried pipes above ground may be part of the solution to radioactive leaks at nuclear power plants around the country.

But some Vermont officials question whether it would be worth relocating the pipes at Vermont Yankee until they decide if its license will be extended.

VPR’s Susan Keese has more.

(Keese) Democratic lawmakers demanded that Yankee’s pipes be moved above ground after a new radioactive leak was found, just as the plant was restarting from a refueling outage.

A more extensive underground leak of radioactive tritium was discovered this winter. Plant officials said other buried pipes had been inspected during the outage.

But a one-eighth-inch hole in a drain pipe in the same underground system that caused the earlier problems, went undetected.

Outgoing Senate President Peter Shumlin, a candidate for governor, called for action.

(Shumlin) “Shut the plant down, replace all the underground pipes and then restart it knowing that the pipes won’t leak anymore.”

(Keese) Shumlin says that’s what’s planned at the Oyster Creek nuclear plant in New Jersey, which has also dealt with tritium leaking into groundwater. That plant is spending $12 million to move its buried pipes into above-ground vaults that can be checked for leaks more easily.

Neil Sheehan of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says federal officials are monitoring the work.

(Neil) “That plant is owned by Exelon and this is something they’re talking about starting at Oyster Creek and then looking to do at other plants that they own. And certainly the rest of the industry would be looking at that as well.”

(Keese) Sheehan says 34 of the country’s 104 nuclear plants have experienced contamination from underground pipes.

Most of that is from tritium, which regulators don’t consider a serious health threat. But other, more lethal radioactive elements have also been found, including at Vermont Yankee.

Sheehan says an NRC task force is reevaluating the agency’s requirements for monitoring underground systems. But he says it’s premature to call for wholesale replacement.

(Sheehan) “We will have to wait and see exactly what that task force comes out with because its work is still underway. We don’t know exactly what they’re going to recommend, but it will certainly get attention at the highest levels by the NRC.”

(Keese) Sheehan says the task force could have recommendations later this month.

Congress is also scrutinizing the NRC’s policies on monitoring underground pipes.

Vermont regulators are also studying the issue.

David O’Brien is the state’s Public Service Commissioner.

(O’Brien) “There certainly is plenty of evidence that some of these pipes were difficult to get to and the excavation of the site was very complicated for the people on the ground.”

(Keese) But O’Brien stopped short of recommending that the Vernon plant’s underground pipes should immediately be moved.

He points out that Vermont Yankee is scheduled to close in two years, unless its operating license is extended.

He says it may not make sense to rebuild the piping system if Yankee isn’t going to operate for another 20 years.

For VPR News, I’m Susan Keese.

Gubernatorial Candidate Peter Shumlin
By Jane Lindholm

There’s a wide field of candidates for governor, and the primary campaigns are well underway. This month on Vermont Edition we’re interviewing the major party candidates and getting their positions on key issues facing the state. On Wednesday our series kicks off with Democrat Peter Shumlin, president pro tempore of the Vermont Senate. We learn about Shumlin’s platform and how he approaches key issues facing the state.

Source: VPR

Vermont Yankee
By Bob Kinzel

The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant’s operating license expires in 2012 and this winter lawmakers in Montpelier gear up for the re-licensing debate and a potential vote. We talk to Senate President Peter Shumlin and Entergy Vice President Jay Thayer about some of the unresolved questions surrounding Vermont Yankee: nuclear waste storage; a post 2012 rate; the deficit in the plant’s decommissioning fund; and Entergy’s plans to form a new spin-off corporation.

Source: VPR

Wednesday, 10/21/09
Bob Kinzel

Montpelier, Vt.

Senate President Peter Shumlin says the owner of Vermont Yankee, the Entergy Corporation, is taking actions that make it less likely the Legislature will vote to extend the plant’s license beyond 2012.

At issue is a proposal to reorganize the ownership of Vermont Yankee and 5 other plants.

VPR’s Bob Kinzel reports.

(Kinzel) It appears that a complicated debate in the upcoming Legislative session over the future of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power plant just got even more complicated.

That’s because Senate President Peter Shumlin doesn’t like Entergy’s proposal to spin off 6 of its older nuclear power plants to a new corporation that will be financed initially with more than $4.5 billion dollars of debt.

The Public Service Department originally opposed the re-organization but recently it changed its position and now it supports the plan.

Shumlin says the proposal could ultimately leave Vermont taxpayers with an enormous financial burden if there are future problems at Vermont Yankee, because the new corporation doesn’t have sufficient assets:

(Shumlin) “It makes a positive vote much more difficult if we are partnering with a junk bond rated business in Mississippi that owes 4.5 billion dollars to someone and has no assets versus a partnership with Entergy Louisiana that has lots of assets, lots of profit and is not going bankrupt.”

(Kinzel) Shumlin also says he’ll oppose the re-licensing of Vermont Yankee if Entergy doesn’t put enough money in the plant’s decommissioning fund.

(Shumlin) “Let’s be really clear whatever deal that they propose together has to include enough money to meet the promise that was made to Vermonters on decommissioning as soon as the plant cools off and is ready to be taken away whenever that day is.”

(Kinzel) Steve Wark is the deputy commissioner at the Public Service Department. He says there are several reasons why his department now supports the reorganization plan:

(Wark) “One of the most significant factors was that they had reduced their debt and so we were pleased with that but the 100 million dollar revolving loan fund dedicated specifically for Vermont Yankee reliability issues a replenishing fund that allows the ongoing development and maintenance of the facility so we think this puts Vermont in a much better position than we currently are and we’re comfortable with those aspects of the deal.”

(Kinzel) The Vermont Yankee reorganization plan is being reviewed by the state Public Service Board.

For VPR News I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier.

Source: VPR