The writer is a member of the board of directors of Citizens Awareness Network.
EASTHAMPTON, MASS.-Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VYNPS, or VY) is coming down as you read this. It may surprise you to hear from this long-time antinuclear activist that there is much to be grateful for with VY's decommissioning.
With the participation of local activists, the state worked out a fairly robust agreement with the owner of VY, NorthStar, to monitor all cleanup and financial activities and return the land to very low levels of radiation. NorthStar is being pretty transparent, complying with state oversight, and keeping within budget to complete the job this decade.
One great idea in the agreement, the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel (NDCAP), has not fulfilled its potential. Its purpose is "to serve as a conduit for public information and education on and to encourage community involvement in matters related to the decommissioning of the VYNPS."
Over the years, the NDCAP has met fewer and fewer times and is now down to three meetings a year. There is no outreach to the public, no education about what's happening or what the risks are. Apart from a few diehards like me, very few members of the public attend, and there is very little time for public comment.
The panel members rarely ask hard questions of NorthStar, like exactly what will the company do to protect the elementary school across the street, or the towns across the river, from toxic dust created when the reactor building is demolished this year.
The "C" in NDCAP hasn't really worked out all that well. Right now, out of eight seats set aside for citizen appointees, three are vacant. The two ex officio members of the Legislature have not been attending.
The "optional" seat for someone from Massachusetts has been empty for years, and a New Hampshire appointment was made only recently. The remaining eight seats are for ex officio representatives of state agencies and NorthStar.
This is going to be a big year in VY's decommissioning, as the reactor building comes down and the serious business of safeguarding more than 50 casks of high-level nuclear waste continues.
VY is the first commercial U.S. reactor to be decommissioned, and the country and the industry are watching the precedents being set. We need robust citizen participation with leadership and outreach from the panel and the state.
For further information, visit the state Department of Public Service and the Citizens Awareness Network. Please join us at the next meeting May 12.
Ann Darling
Easthampton, Mass.
The writer is a member of the board of directors of Citizens Awareness Network.
This letter to the editor was submitted to The Commons.
This piece, published in print in the Voices section or as a column in the news sections, represents the opinion of the writer. In the newspaper and on this website, we strive to ensure that opinions are based on fair expression of established fact. In the spirit of transparency and accountability, The Commons is reviewing and developing more precise policies about editing of opinions and our role and our responsibility and standards in fact-checking our own work and the contributions to the newspaper. In the meantime, we heartily encourage civil and productive responses at [email protected].