After slightly more than 42 years of splitting atoms and generating electricity, the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant was permanently shut down on Dec. 29 when control-room operators inserted dozens of neutron-absorbing control rods into the reactor core for the final time.
Entergy, the plant's owner and operator, voluntarily closed the boiling-water reactor, citing economic and other considerations for the move.
The halt to power production at the Vernon plant marks the end of an era for Vermont Yankee's workforce and for the surrounding community. But now another phase in the facility's life will begin as the first steps in what will be a lengthy decommissioning process get underway.
These efforts will receive attention from many quarters. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will have lead responsibility for overseeing the decommissioning activities and ensuring they are carried out safely and in accordance with federal requirements.
But the state of Vermont and a decommissioning advisory panel will also play important roles in monitoring developments at the approximately 125-acre site in coming years.
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Given that the plant is about to embark on a new and entirely different stage, this is an opportune time for the NRC to provide information about near-term key developments and what members of the public can expect.
First and foremost, Entergy had to submit to the NRC within 30 days of the reactor's shutdown a written certification of the permanent cessation of operations. Also, once the nuclear fuel was permanently removed from the reactor vessel, the owner was required to file another certification to the NRC that this had occurred.
The NRC submitted a combined certification for these actions on Jan. 12. Now the company is barred from refueling the reactor without pursuing approval from the NRC.
Another important development for decommissioning nuclear power plants is that prior to or within two years of permanent shutdown, the company has to submit a Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR).
This report provides, among other things, a description of planned decommissioning activities, a schedule for accomplishing them, and an estimate of the expected costs. Entergy filed the PSDAR for Vermont Yankee on Dec. 19.
While the NRC does not approve the PSDAR, it does review the report to determine if it meets regulatory requirements. The NRC will find the submittal acceptable only if it meets all applicable criteria. The content requirements for the PSDAR are publicly available via the agency's website.
The NRC will hold a public meeting beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 19, at the Quality Inn in Brattleboro, to receive public comments on the PSDAR, which provides an opportunity for citizen input to the NRC.
Entergy provided a draft copy of the report to the state of Vermont and the public in the fall and requested comments on this preliminary version.
The NRC's comment period opened following the submission of the PSDAR and will close on March 23.
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Ninety days after the NRC receives the PSDAR, the plant's owner can begin major decommissioning activities without specific approval. But Entergy has indicated it does not intend to initiate any major dismantlement and decontamination work for many years.
Instead, the company intends to avail itself of the option known as SAFSTOR, which means the facility would be placed in a safe, stable condition and monitored until active decommissioning begins.
A near-term focus for decommissioning activities at the site will be on preparing the plant for the storage period and shifting the fuel in the spent fuel pool into dry-cask storage.
A second dry-cask storage pad will need to be constructed to support those transfers.
To better keep watch during the period of transition from an operating plant to a decommissioning one, the NRC will keep a resident inspector at the site through the middle of this year. The inspector's focus will be on ensuring that safety is maintained despite the significant change in the plant's status.
Eventually, NRC inspectors with expertise in decommissioning will take over oversight activities.
We will provide more information on decommissioning activities at the plant, including at the Feb. 19 meeting.
Suffice it to say, the process will be more of a marathon than a sprint, with the NRC running stride for stride with this project well into the middle of this century.
In other words, the NRC won't be going anywhere.