Aug. 21--BRATTLEBORO -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate as to how much it will cost to clean up the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant site is too low, stated a former industry insider turned nuclear safety advocate.

Two years ago, Arnie Gundersen and Fairewinds Associates performed a decommissioning cost study, concluding the NRC's minimum requirement was only half of what was needed to fully clean up the site.

The NRC estimates it will cost about $530 million to clean up the site.

"VY's own analysis places the cost at approximately $1 billion," wrote Gundersen in a Aug. 20 letter to the NRC.

"That significant difference leaves ratepayers or taxpayers saddled with an enormous burden after the plant is shut down. These additional $500 million in costs will ultimately be borne by the citizens of the State of Vermont up to 60 years after the plant stops generating electricity," according to Gundersen.

He also claimed that the NRC formula used to calculate the funds necessary is "simplistic" and underestimates the total amount needed.

As proof, he wrote, take a look at the decommissioning fund of Connecticut Yankee, which was $480 million short of the actual costs.

"The $480 million shortfall by CY was unfairly borne by Connecticut's ratepayers after significant electrical generation profits were paid to the corporation and its stockholders," he said.

Another nuclear industry critic agreed with

Gundersen.

The NRC's funding criteria are "a far cry" from what Entergy, which owns and operates Yankee, agreed to in a memorandum of understanding prior to the sale of Yankee to Entergy from a consortium of power utilities in 2002, said Bob Stannard, spokesman for Citizen Awareness Network, which opposes the relicensing of the power plant.

"The NRC does not require the site be returned to green field status. The NRC is perfectly content to leave the place in mothballs for 60, 70, 90, 100 years. The NRC is fine with leaving the dry casks on site in perpetuity. Very little of what the NRC says is OK is OK with Vermonters and does not come close to what Entergy said they'd do in 2002."

Recently, the NRC notified Entergy that its decommissioning fund was $87 million short of NRC minimum requirements.

This week, Entergy told the NRC that because of increases in the value of the fund, the amount needed to meet its minimum was a little more than $51 million, which it plans on addressing using a method not yet detailed.

"We have not yet received a submittal from Entergy on the financial mechanism or mechanisms it plans to use to address the Vermont Yankee decommissioning fund shortfall," wrote NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan in an e-mail to the Reformer.

The NRC plans to send a request for additional information to Entergy next month, asking it to detail those plans, he wrote.

Gundersen also cautioned that Yankee's status as an Llc protects Entergy from additional costs related to decommissioning. There are no other assets besides the plant itself to pay for the true decommissioning cost of the facility, wrote Gundersen.

Bob Audette can be reached at raudette@reformer.com, or at (802) 254-2311, ext. 273.

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