Attorney General William Sorrell spent $100,000 to determine that Entergy didn't do anything unlawful when it testified about underground pipes.
According to the federal government, an “underground” pipe is a pipe that comes in direct contact with the soil. To make a long story short, when Vermont Yankee officials testified that there were no “underground” pipes carrying radioactive material, they were telling the truth.
Now the skeptic might ask, “Why didn't any of the self-proclaimed nuclear experts among Vermont Yankee's opponents catch this very important distinction?”
I suspect they knew exactly what they were asking, and they knew that by asking the question, they would receive the answer they needed to get Vermont to do their bidding.
As for Vermont Yankee's officials, I suspect that they answered as they did because they did not try to redefine the terms set down for them by the federal government. The nuclear industry does not have the authority, nor should it be left for them, to redefine the definitions governing them. They are working by the federal government's rules and definitions.
As for the plant's opponents, well...... why not spend $100,000 of the state's money to accomplish what they want? Can anyone deny that the uproar over the “underground” pipes lead to the Senate vote not to relicense Vermont Yankee?
I have to give the antinuclear groups credit. They are good at using all the tricks of the trade they can come up with - including not asking whether pipes are below grade or subsurface - to get at what they must have known or should have known.