Entergy, owner of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, improperly withdrew $282,000 from the site’s $600 million decommissioning trust fund last year for spent fuel management purposes, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Wednesday.
However, Entergy will not be fined, as the regulator admitted there are “issues associated with the clarity of NRC regulatory guidance.” Entergy received a green inspection violation, which indicates “very low safety significance,” for withdrawing the money in February 2015. The company was in violation, NRC found, because the withdrawal was made prior to the regulator granting Entergy an exemption tied to the amount in June 2015. Entergy required the exemption because NRC does not consider spent fuel management to be directly related to decommissioning planning.
NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said Wednesday the regulator is taking part of the blame “to the extent” that it could have been clearer on what trust fund expenditures are allowed.
Entergy spokesman Marty Cohn said by telephone Wednesday the company was unaware the withdrawal would result in a violation. He also said Entergy believes the finding will result in NRC updating its guidance documents, while downplaying the amount withdrawn, which represents 1.5 percent of the amount allowed for decommissioning planning out of the trust fund.
“Actions have been taken to ensure other Entergy sites have controls in place to avoid similar circumstances going forward,” Cohn said in a statement. “(Vermont Yankee) continues to follow applicable regulations and appropriate guidance and industry practices related to the use of the decommissioning trust fund.”
Vermont Yankee’s use of the trust fund has drawn heat from the state of Vermont. Officials there sued the NRC because of the regulator’s exemption approval process, arguing the NRC erred in allowing Entergy to use an estimated $225 million from its decommissioning trust fund for spent nuclear fuel management purposes. Vermont and co-petitioner Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp., former owner of the plant, have an interest in the fund because 55 percent of the money left over after decommissioning will be returned to the facility’s original Vermont ratepayers.
Cohn declined to comment on whether the violation will fuel Vermont’s argument.
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in February dismissed Vermont’s challenge, saying the state first must settle the matter with NRC. NRC counsel’s stance has been that there isn’t a process in place for Vermont’s challenge, and the commission is considering whether to hold a hearing on the matter.
Sheehan said Wednesday the NRC will not require Entergy to return the $282,000 to the decommissioning trust fund.
“It’s after the fact now,” Sheehan said. “We’re not going to make them deposit that money back in, and we did ultimately approve the exemption in June. But we just want to be clear, more to other plant operators, that there has to be attention paid to exactly what the regulations do and don’t allow when it comes to use of those funds.”
The NRC regulatory guidance in question reads: “The staff recognizes that during planning for decommissioning, it is necessary to consider activities leading to license termination and the storage of spent fuel; therefore, the staff’s interpretation of the appropriate use of these planning funds will permit planning for all issues related to the decommissioning of the facility.”
The violation was disclosed in NRC’s quarterly inspection at the plant, which also touched on the issue of contaminated water. Entergy drew criticism in February after photos surfaced of water, which intruded the turbine building, being stored in portable swimming pools at the plant, which Vermont Speaker of the House Shap Smith likened to “kiddie pools.” Entergy, which according to NRC was not in violation of any rule, has since emptied the pools in favor of using bladders and other containers. The company each week has been shipping 10,000 to 20,000 gallons of intrusive water from the plant for processing in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
“We’re satisfied that they’re taking that problem seriously and addressing it,” Sheehan said.
