BELLOWS FALLS — The Windham County economy has been flat for the past decade, with significant job losses, little new investment, an aging workforce, and virtually no population growth.
A few years ago, C & S Wholesale Grocers, one of the major employers and mainstays of the Windham County economy, made the decision to move their corporate headquarters to Keene, N.H.
This year, Vermont Yankee is facing the possible end of a 40-year relationship with the Windham County community. This is based in part upon opposition by some vocal local residents (including Vermont's new governor) to the 20-year license renewal granted to the nuclear plant earlier this year by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
According to a comprehensive economic study submitted to the Vermont Public Service Board over a year ago, Vermont Yankee provides more than 600 well-paying jobs in the region and puts $100 million each year into the regional Vermont economy through payroll, taxes, and the purchase of goods and services from other in-state businesses. Over the 20 years of extended operation, that would amount to $2 billion.
Over the eight years since purchasing Vermont Yankee, Entergy has invested more than $400 million to modernize the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the physical plant. The more than 600 men and women of the plant's workforce, already regarded as one of the finest professional nuclear operating organizations in the U.S. fleet, have earned top ratings from the NRC. Vermont Yankee is regarded as being in the top 15 percent of all U.S. plants by the industry professional “best practices” organization.
The January 2010 tritium leak was identified and repaired within a matter of weeks and a very successful groundwater remediation program has been under way for over a year. For the past 19 months, extremely close monitoring by the NRC and the Vermont Department of Health has consistently reported no threat to public health or safety as a result of tritium.
It would be a tragedy if purely political considerations cause the needless loss of a safe and efficient economic engine like Vermont Yankee, particularly in a region with a truly marginal economy like Windham County.