Dear VNRC Members, Activists and Friends,
You may have already heard yesterday’s deeply troubling news. Entergy Nuclear, the parent company of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, misled Vermont regulators — under oath — when it denied the existence of underground pipes beneath the plant.
Within the context of other recent news — the fact that a dangerous radioactive isotope called tritium has likely been leaking from underground pipes into the groundwater around the plant — Entergy’s ‘mischaracterization’ represents an egregious breach of the public trust.
The Douglas administration has called this event “a real problem,” and the Vermont Department of Public service is now looking into fining Entergy for misrepresenting the existence of underground pipes. Check out the DPS letter on this matter here.
Contact your legislators and let them know that this kind of behavior cannot and must not be tolerated.
Read all about this situation in an article in today’s Burlington Free Press — “State Rips Vermont Yankee.”
Check out yesterday’s New York Times article where Yankee’s owners admitted lying to legislators on the matter.
Read more about the recent news of radioactivity leaking into Vermont’s groundwater in a recent Burlington Free Press article.
Find out more about a federal investigation initiated yesterday by Congressman Markey looking into leaking nuclear power plants across the nation.
Lawmakers need to hear loud and clear from Vermonters that this kind of behavior, which could put public health and safety at risk, is not acceptable. Vermont Yankee lobbyists are in the State House at this very moment trying to spin their way out of this mess. Contact your legislator today and urge them to shut down Vermont Yankee.
Vermont should not partner with a company that clearly has such disregard for public health and safety. There’s a better way forward to meet Vermont’s energy needs, and closing the dangerous, decrepit Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant will help the state move in that direction far faster.
Sincerely,
The VNRC Team