BRATTLEBORO — State officials have created an email address to allow the public to comment on or ask questions about the decommissioning of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.
The address – [email protected] – is meant to improve communications with the Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel. The panel is tasked with serving as a conduit for public information and education while also advising the governor, state Legislature, and state agencies on Vermont Yankee matters.
“I hope people will use the email address to share their thoughts and concerns with the panel,” said Kate O'Connor, VNDCAP chair.
VNDCAP was formed by the Legislature and began meeting in September 2014, about three months before Vermont Yankee ceased producing power. It's expected that decommissioning the plant will take decades, and the Vernon property is heading into a period of extended dormancy called SAFSTOR.
The advisory panel meets periodically at sites in Windham County, hearing presentations from state officials and plant owner Entergy as well as from other experts.
“What happens at VY now and in the future will have an impact on our state and everyone who lives here,” O'Connor said. “That's why we encourage the public to be engaged in the decommissioning process. We make a point to include public participation at the NDCAP meetings, and providing an email address will give the public another way to be involved.”
O'Connor warned that any emails sent to the panel will become a matter of public record. But she also pledged that all emails will be reviewed by the advisory body.
The next VNDCAP meeting is scheduled for 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 12 at Vernon Elementary School's cafeteria.