VERNON — For more than 40 years, Vernon and Vermont Yankee have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship.
The town has been home to many employees, has educated their children, and has provided excellent highway and public safety services. Employees have been generous with volunteering their time and making donations to various causes and, of course, the plant has been the largest taxpayer in town.
Both Vermont Yankee and Vernon wish this strong relationship to continue during the plant decommissioning phase.
I am concerned that the state of Vermont wishes to retain the Emergency Preparedness Zone (EPZ) “as is” through 2020. Such a policy is unnecessary because the reactor is now empty and cold.
Extending this zone will be expensive, costing up to $100 million through 2020. It will be harmful to the local economy, by reducing the value of the decommissioning trust fund and thus delaying decommissioning for years, even decades.
Decommissioning will bring hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy. The sooner it is completed, the sooner another business enterprise can occupy the plant site.
Vermont Yankee's emergency preparedness plan, approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, would enable the work to happen as soon as possible, and most importantly would provide all necessary public safety.