The request for declaratory and injunctive relief follows the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) 21 March 2011, renewal of Vermont Yankee’s operating license authorizing the plant’s operation through 21 March 2032.
The NRC’s action came following a thorough five-year safety and environmental review of the plant.
In 2006, the Vermont General Assembly passed a law that invalidated a key provision of a 2002 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee (ENVY) and Entergy Nuclear Operations (ENOI), two units of Entergy Corp, and Vermont officials when the company purchased Vermont Yankee.
Under that provision of the MOU, Entergy’s two subsidiaries had agreed to seek a certificate of public good from the Vermont Public Service Board if it sought to operate the plant beyond 21 March 2012.
This was in accordance with the process and standard for securing the state certificate in effect at that time.
