Vermont Votes 'No': Senators deny relicensing the old and dangerous Yankee nuclear plant

By a margin of 26-4, Vermont’s Senate voted to close Vermont Yankee, one of the oldest nuclear power plants in the country, on schedule in 2012. The victory was celebrated by a coalition of environmental and public health organizations, including Toxics Action Center, along with the thousands of Vermonters who took part in the campaign.

In 2006, Toxics Action Center began working with Nuclear Free Vermont, a group of residents living near the plant, to build local opposition to Entergy Nuclear’s proposal to extend the plant’s operations to 2032. Alongside Nuclear Free Vermont and other area citizen groups, Toxics Action Center joined the Safe Power Vermont  coalition in launching a statewide effort to ensure the plant closed on time.

Over the past 6 years, our public health and safety concerns have been repeatedly validated. Incidents included a major electrical fire that caused a full shut down of the plant in 2004, a collapsed cooling tower in August 2007, and repeated leaks throughout 2008. In January, 2010, radioactive material was found leaking from underground pipes at 100 times local drinking water limits – and to make it worse, Entergy had previously denied under oath that these pipes even existed.

As the plant’s failures continued to mount, the Safe Power Vermont coalition’s work gained momentum. Each partner organization mounted coordinated campaigns to press the issue. Toxics Action Center took a lead role coordinating the entire coalition, ensuring that each piece moved forward as planned, as well as organizing dozens of local, grassroots actions.

Numerous community groups with which Toxics Action Center has worked took a step beyond their local campaigns and embraced the challenge of closing an aging nuclear plant. People for Less Pollution submitted letters to the editor and contacted their legislators.  Members of the Mad River Neighborhood Association volunteered in the Statehouse the day of the vote, and the Cavendish Community  and Conservation Association held a local press conference, signed on local businesses, ran phone banks, and met with their elected  officials.

Vermont State Director Jessica Edgerly commented on the  tremendous victory: “The Vermont Yankee victory was won by the dozens of community members across Vermont who had won local toxics campaigns and were willing and able to take on a much larger threat to the health of Vermonters. A well trained and engaged  citizenry can hold even the largest, most entrenched polluting companies accountable.” Our staff congratulate all the organizations and individuals who came together to make sure a resounding victory possible. Over the next two years, Toxics Action Center will continue to monitor Vermont Yankee, and work to ensure that the plant is closed down safely and on time in 2012.