A Judge Rules Vermont Can't Shut Nuclear Plant

February 1, 2012 by legitgov

Occupy Vermont Yankee: A Judge Rules Vermont Can't Shut Nuclear Plant 19 Jan 2012 A federal judge on Thursday blocked Vermont from forcing the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor to shut down when its license expires in March, saying that the state is trying to regulate nuclear safety, which only the federal government can do. The judge, J. Garvan Murtha of United States District Court in Brattleboro, Vt., also held that the state cannot force the plant's owner, Entergy, to sell electricity from the reactor to in-state utilities at reduced rates as a condition of continued operation, as Entergy asserts it is now doing. The ruling is almost certain to be appealed by the state and an array of private groups that want the plant shut down because of leaks of radioactive tritium and other issues.