NRC Investigation of Entergy VY Leaks to Continue Remainder 2010  “With regard to Entergy’s ‘game’s over’ claims,” said Raymond Shadis, New England Coalition Nuclear Issues Consultant, “they are a classic Entergy attempt at a fast-one.  It’s not over until it’s over.  Clearly NRC intends to be looking over ENVY’s shoulder and the Coalition intends to be looking over the shoulder of NRC.” Click here for the NEC Press Release // Click here for the NRC Letter to ENVY

NEC Moves to Reopen NRC Hearing on VY Renewal New England Coalition filed a motion late this past Friday to reopen the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board hearing on Entergy Vermont Yankee’s and for the admission of new contentions; together with the supporting affidavit of 40-year nuclear industry veteran, electrical engineer Paul Blanch. Click here for Motion to Reopen // Click here for Contentions // Click here for Blanch Testimony // Click Here for Press Release

NEC joins citizens groups in asking the NRC to amend the license extension process to begin no more than 10 years before the expiration date, in response to Seabrook applying to a license extension 30 Years before it's license expires. The NEC petition would put off any consideration of an application for license renewal until a nuclear power station is within 10 years at a minimum (not 20) of the scheduled end of it's original license. Click here for the Petition

NEC Staff testified to the President's Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future New England Coalition Staff Clay Turnbull and Technical Advisor Ray Shadis testified to the Commission's subcommittee on nuclear waste and transportation on Tuesday, August 10 at the Chewonki Foundation in Wiscasset, Maine.  For a report on the day's events, click here

NRC RELEASES INSPECTION REPORT ON VERMONT YANKEE GROUND WATER MONITORING 21MAY2010 CLICK FOR PDF

NRC DECIDES TO TAKE UP CITIZEN ENFORCEMENT PETITION  ON ENTERGY VERMONT YANKEE LEAKS (4/29/2010) On April 26, 2010, New England Coalition received notice from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’ s 10 CFR 2.206 Petition Review Board as follows......   CLICK HERE FOR PRESS RELEASE HTML PDF

THE TIME IS NOW With the recent Vermont Senate vote (26-4) against state approval of Vermont Yankee the tides have turned. What we do may not of itself decide the closing of VT Yankee, yet it is not likely to be closed without the work that we do.Please donate to join our victory Shortly after the announcement that VT Yankee nuclear plant had been contaminating the groundwater with leaking with leaking radioactive tritium, NEC filed a petition with the NRC against Entergy Nuclear, asking that the reactor be shut down immediately until the source of the leak was identified and repaired. This request was denied. On March 3, 2010 NEC's technical consultant spoke before the NRC Petition Review Board to explain in more detail the Coalition's request. Paul Blanch, a consultant to NEC who has 45 years experience as a nuclear engineer also spoke. He stated that "The claim that we need to continue operating to identify the leak has no engineering basis whatsoever ..." As VT Yankee continues to operate contamination of the ground and Connecticut River goes on unabated.       Please support NEC's vital ongoing legal effort's by making a contribution now.

NEC PETITION TO NRC FOR ENFORCEMENT ACTION: REQUIRE ENTERGY NUCLEAR VERMONT YANKEE INTO COLD SHUTDOWN UNTIL LEAK(S) STOPPED, PIPES ARE LOCATED, AND NUMEROUS APPARENT VIOLATIONS OF NRC REGULATION.    CLICK HERE FOR FULL FILING

NEC'S REQUEST FOR INVESTIGATION GRANTED:  VPSB DOCKET 7600 PRE-STATUS CONFERENCE SET 14 PAGE DOWNLOAD HERE 1. IS IMMEDIATE SHUTDOWN NEEDED 2. ENTERGY: LOSE PERMISSION TO GENERATE POWER IN VT (PERMITTED IN DOCKET 6545 3. WHAT PENALTIES SHOULD BE IMPOSED ON ENTERGY FOR RECENT VIOLATIONS

VT Senate Vote To End Vermont Yankee The Senate vote 26-4 to retire Vermont Yankee on schedule is Vermont's first significant step off of the poison power path; a true gift to future generations of people in the tri-state region. For New England Coalition, it means a shift of gears. *  First, NEC is prepared to help defend the Senate's vote against any legal or political challenges that may come. *  We must now convince, coerce if necessary, Entergy management to plan and fund a prompt best-practices decommissioning. *  Finally, our work on watch-dogging VY has to be sharper than ever to get ahead of any further decline in nuclear safety as VY operations and maintenance go into these last few remaining years. "It was gratifying to hear Senators discussing the draft of NEC's case study of the economic consequences of closing Maine Yankee in the deliberations.  As a neighbor of a former reactor site, I say to neighbors of VY, welcome to the prospect of living without worry about a nuclear accident emergency plan" said Raymond Shadis, NEC Technical Consultant.

SELECT EXERPTS FROM ENTERGY FEB 2, 2010 CONFERENCE CALL -  PDF Wayne Leonard - Entergy - Chairman of the Board & CEO      "..... keep in mind... right now Vermont Yankee is not covering its costs of capital. Over the next two years it is projected to lose money [ENVY].....    "But the option of it not [operating], of shutting it down is very distasteful. ... to shut that plant down... from a financial standpoint, without some changes for Entergy it [shutdown] wouldn't be, it wouldn't make much difference in the bottom line.

    New England Coalition is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

All contributions are tax-deductible. Please support our ongoing battle

in this critical year.

"Campaign for a Critical Year" is NEC's fundraising campaign focused on challenging Entergy Nuclear's plans to operate their Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station 20 years beyond it's current 2012 license expiration. 

 

NEC is the sole challenger to Entergy Nuclear's request for a license extension before the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and NEC is the only citizens advocate before the VT Public Service Board challenging Entergy Nuclear on environmental and safety issues in Docket 7440 as well as the degraded material and operational conditions at VY.

Support NEC with a monthly pledge or automatic payment (download form)