Vermont Attorney General Thomas J. Donovan Jr. on Tuesday vowed to protect state taxpayers by intervening in the Vermont Public Service Board’s review of Entergy’s pending sale of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant to decommissioning specialist NorthStar Group Services.
“At first glance, it looks like a good deal if it will get the site cleaned up faster,” Donovan said in a statement in Tuesday’s intervention filing with the PSB. “But we need to really kick the tires and make sure the new company is going to be able to clean up the site. My Office is going to look at this deal closely, with an eye toward ensuring that the site is fully cleaned up, and without any costs falling on the Vermont taxpayer.”
Vermont Yankee closed in 2014. Entergy agreed in November to the sale, saying NorthStar’s ownership will expedite decommissioning of the plant by decades. The transaction requires approval from the PSB and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The state board plans to conduct public proceedings on the matter through October.
March 1 was the deadline for parties to file motions to intervene. Several other groups intervened, including the New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution and the Windham Regional Commission, the local county’s governing board. Entergy and NorthStar have also both filed to intervene in the case.
