The Vermont Public Service Board kicked off two weeks of technical proceedings on Monday to determine whether Louisiana-based Entergy Corp., the owner of the 40-year-old Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon, should receive a license to continue operating the facility for 20 more years.
On one side, Entergy is arguing for the plant's continued operation. On the other side, the Vermont Public Service Department, charged with representing the public interest in energy, telecommunications, water, and wastewater utility matters, is arguing against the company's bid for the license, also known as a certificate of public good.
The proceedings begin while the Vermont Supreme Court prepares to hear an appeal Entergy has filed arguing that the court should decide the fate of the plant. In filings last week the company said the board should not proceed with the technical hearings for the certificate of public good, but rather relicense the plant based on a pre-existing docket.
The state's highest court is waiting for briefs that are due March 2.
The anti-nuclear advocacy group, the New England Coalition, filed a motion with the Public Service Board to halt the board's planned proceedings until the Supreme Court has ruled on Entergy's appeal.
Nevertheless, the board did not make a formal decision on this motion at the outset of the hearings Monday, allowing the proceedings to continue with testimony from Richard W. Heaps, an economist who says that closing Vermont Yankee would hurt Windham County and Vermont economically.
Boston-based attorney Robert Kirsch, representing the state of Vermont, asked Heaps few questions that got by the frequent objections of attorney Robert Hemley from the Burlington-based legal firm Gravel and Shea, which is representing Entergy.
Public Service Board Chairman James Volz indicated that he is willing to make time for extra testimony.
“There's no particular rush to get this done,” he said.
In addition to this proceeding and the aforementioned Supreme Court appeal, the state is also tied up in litigation with Entergy in the U.S. Court of Appeals.