NRC Opens Public Comment Period on Vermont Yankee PSDAR

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission yesterday opened the public comment period for Vermont Yankee’s Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report, submitted last month, while scheduling a public meeting in Vermont on the plan for next month. Comments can be submitted to the NRC until March 23, and the public meeting will take place on Feb. 19 in Brattleboro, Vt. In its PSDAR, Entergy estimated the cost of the Vermont Yankee cleanup at $1.24 billion, with costs associated with terminating the NRC operating license at $817 million, spent fuel management at $368 million, and site restoration at $57 million. Vermont Yankee has chosen the SAFESTOR option that enables the plant to sit for up to 60 years before major decommissioning activities need to begin. Because the reactor is shutting down prematurely, its decommissioning trust fund has not accrued enough interest to cover the costs. The SAFESTOR option enables the fund to grow enough to cover the costs, and Entergy has pledged to the state of Vermont it would not use the full 60 years allotted under the NRC regulation, rather it would begin when the fund had the necessary funds. Entergy anticipates beginning work in 2040, with spent fuel moved to dry cask storage by 2020.