The commonality with both political stripes if you cross the nuclear industry you loose the next election(Kunin). The electric utilities and nuclear industry holds a lot of political power. Shumlin won by a slim margin and he got reelected three times. A lot of politicians got elected or reinforced their campaigns on his coattails. He promised he would shutdown Vermont Yankee and it came into being.
Basically Massachusetts is a Democratic state like Vermont. Pilgrim seems to be collapsing. Will the Democrats gain a golden anti nuclear Pilgrim plant moment in the future allowing them to boot Massachusetts Gov Charlie Baker out of office and other politicians will pile on? Believe me, as the Republicans smell the beginning of the fall of the governor, they will pile on to the Pilgrim woes a la Vermont Yankee.
Pilgrim is much worst than the Vermont Yankee cracked AOG pipe issue. The NRC stayed with this sinking ship with never downgrading the plant. Is the downgrading of Pilgrim an attempt to save the plant?
Believe me, governor Baker is shaking in his boots?
No question Vermont Gov Douglas saw the involvement of Gunderson as a Democrat political assassination job. We have no idea what the VY issue is going to do for Vermont Gov Shumlin in the future? He is not running for reelection. Is he heading to Washington as a US Senator or going to be in the next presidential cabinet as a agency head? Is he being groomed for something bigger and better? He had the guts to slay Vermont Yankee and Entergy to get elected. Does the system see something bigger in him because of his cold blooded political instincts?
Don't wet your pants yet, Entergy is throwing a tremendous amount of money at the Massachusetts Democrats. The Democrats owe Entergy a lot of favors. Remember the electric utilities and nuclear industry politically usually are in direct synchronization. This is one of the most powerful political forces in the nation. But booting Pilgrim off the grid would have the interest of the grid power players. It would support or mitigate the decline of electric prices across the board.
Don't wet your pants yet, Entergy is throwing a tremendous amount of money at the Massachusetts Democrats. The Democrats owe Entergy a lot of favors. Remember the electric utilities and nuclear industry politically usually are in direct synchronization. This is one of the most powerful political forces in the nation. But booting Pilgrim off the grid would have the interest of the grid power players. It would support or mitigate the decline of electric prices across the board.
This is how Vermont Yankee became the winning Gov Shumin political issue that rocketed him in office.
Right, when Massachusetts Gov Baker begins to talk like Douglas (in early 2010), then you know he thinks the Republicans and him have become extremely politically vulnerable. When Gunderson jumps in Baker is a dead man?
Wiki: In May 2009, the vice-president of operations at Vermont Yankee told the PSB during the reliability review that he did not believe there was any radioactively contaminated underground piping at the plant, but that he would check and respond to the panel.[25] In October 2009, Arnold Gundersen, a member of a special oversight panel convened by the Vermont General Assembly, confirmed that radioactive contamination had been detected in underground pipes. An Entergy spokesperson told Vermont Public Radio (VPR) that the earlier testimony was a "miscommunication."[25] On June 4, 2010, VPR reported that, because they had provided misleading information, Entergy Nuclear would be liable for legal expenses incurred by certain parties.[26]
In January 2010, it was reported that tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, had been discovered in a sample of ground water taken from a monitoring well the previous November...Governor Douglas knows he is fighting for his political life as the radioactive leaking pipe issue just emerged.
Right, when Massachusetts Gov Baker begins to talk like Douglas (in early 2010), then you know he thinks the Republicans and him have become extremely politically vulnerable. When Gunderson jumps in Baker is a dead man?
Governor Douglas: "Dark Clouds of Doubt" Over Vermont Yankee
Wednesday, January 27 2010 @ 08:47 PM GMT+4
Contributed by: cgrotke
Governor Douglas held a press conference today to weigh in on Vermont Yankee's latest. Here's the press release:
"The recent revelations at Vermont Yankee have raised many questions from my Administration, the federal government, the Legislature, the press and, most importantly, Vermonters.
The safe and reliable operation of the Vermont Yankee plant is an important part of our energy and economic future and it is critical to those Vermonters whose jobs depend on its operation.
My Administration has made clear that we cannot support its relicensing without a favorable power agreement, a sound plan for decommissioning and assurances about safety and reliability – which are, of course, our primary concerns.
I continue to believe that these determinations must be left to the regulators at the state and federal levels. Decisions that impact so many Vermonters must be based on the best scientific information and evaluated objectively outside of the political fray.
In all regulatory matters there must be transparency and honesty from the regulated entity. When any of these elements are called into question, the regulatory process itself is compromised. What has happened at Vermont Yankee is a breach of trust that cannot be tolerated. In order to move forward on whether or not the plant will continue to operate, questions need to be answered, changes need to be made and the trust of Vermonters must be restored.
Entergy now finds itself under investigation at every level.
- The NRC and our Departments of Health and Public Service are working with others to determine the source of the tritium leak and assess any safety and health implications.
- The Agency of Natural Resources is reviewing ongoing ground and surface water tests for environmental contamination.
- The Public Service Department is reinstituting its independent vertical audit to fully assess the underground pipe system, in cooperation with the Public Oversight Panel.
- The Public Service Department is demanding an independent verification of the sufficiency of the decommissioning fund given the prospects of contaminated soil on the Vernon site.
- Today, the Public Service Board required Entergy to submit prompt and complete corrections to any inaccurate information it has provided and a description of what steps it will take to rectify the situation.
- And the Attorney General has launched an investigation to ascertain whether there is any criminal behavior by Entergy officials.
I have spoken with Entergy CEO Wayne Leonard, and he assured me that he is taking recent revelations and discoveries seriously and he has instituted a full and thorough investigation into this matter by an outside law firm.
That’s not good enough. We need action.
If Entergy is serious about rebuilding Vermonters trust and restoring its credibility, it must acknowledge its mistakes and make immediate corrections.
Now is not the time for Entergy to circle its wagons. If it is serious about securing a future in Vermont, Entergy must be fully transparent and provide the State unfettered access to all its investigations – internal and otherwise. It must be willing to make personnel and records available to investigators and to waive any attorney-client or other privileges that may attach to these investigations. Letting the sun shine in will be an important and powerful statement about the company’s commitment to make things right.
And like many Vermonters, I have lost trust in the current management team and I have been disappointed that changes have not already been made. So today I am calling on Entergy to make immediate, necessary changes in management as well.
Until questions regarding the current circumstances are answered, decisions about the long-term future of the plant should not be made. I am directing Commissioner O’Brien to request a stay from any further action by the Board on the Enexus spin-off until the investigations have run their course and Vermonters can be confident in the transparency and honesty of the company’s management.
Further, with so many ongoing investigations, unanswered questions, and my own unease with previous information we have received from Entergy management, I can no longer ask legislators to vote this year on whether the Public Service Board should be allowed to decide the case for relicensing. Therefore, I am calling for a time-out.
Until Entergy reestablishes its credibility, we should not move forward on a decision of such importance to the safety of our people, the livelihoods of so many and the economic and energy future of Vermont. When we can again say with resolute clarity that we can depend on the management of the plant and ensure public health and safety, only then can we move forward with the consideration of the plant’s long-term future.
The ultimate question of Vermont Yankee’s future is not being decided today, but the events of the last two weeks have raised dark clouds of doubt that must clear before we proceed.
Vermont gov Douglas sees the writing on the wall...he and the Republicans knows politically he has been severely compromised by Vermont Yankee. Might as well close the curtain:We have high expectations from the management of a nuclear power plant – and rightly so. Vermonters are understanding, but never suffer fools. We expect better, we deserve better, and, now, we demand better. The trust that’s been broken can be repaired, but it must begin with swift and determined action – and it must begin today."
Thu Aug 27, 2009 at 02:50 PM PDT
Partly because of a split left (the state has a strong Progressive Party), Vermont, the nation's most Democratic state, has been governed by a Republican the last 7 years. That streak is about to end.
Vermont's Governor Douglas made the same kind of initial statement when the VY's radioactive leak first emerged. Massachusetts Governor Baker today is saying these guys with their big bucks and favors got us elected and they are our kind of people. They are people just like us.Gov. Jim Douglas announced today he will not run for re-election in 2010, ending his time as governor at four two-year terms.
Federal agency downgrades Plymouth nuclear plant again
By Chris Burrell The Patriot LedgerOne of the Ma governor's aids wapped Baker in the head and said this really is a ticking time bomb. You quickly need to start distancing yourself from your buddies. You got to throw them under the bus...they understand it is all just political. Entergy probably coached them to do this.
Posted Sep. 2, 2015 at 2:27 PM Republican Gov. Charlie Baker said the state is in constant contact with federal regulators and needs to keep an eye on the issues raised by the NRC’s latest actions.
But he also expressed his confidence in the plant.
“I toured it recently, and we walked through all the safety protocols, and I believe it is safe,” Baker told reporters Wednesday.
Baker Urges Plymouth Nuclear Plant Owners To Correct Safety Problems September 3, 2015
By WBUR Newsroom
Gov. Charlie Baker is urging the operators of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station to take action after federal inspectors announced they would be increasing oversight of the plant due to safety violations.
In a letter Thursday to Entergy Nuclear Operations, Baker expressed concern that the company hadn’t taken action to address the causes of several unplanned shutdowns at the Plymouth plant dating back to 2013.
He urged Entergy to “perform an appropriate root cause analysis of the shutdowns and to complete all necessary repairs and corrective actions.”
The letter was sent a day after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced it would be increasing oversight of the plant and downgrading the plant’s safety status to just one category above a mandatory shutdown.
Regulators say the plant could have prevented an unplanned January 2015 shutdown had it corrected issues with its safety relief valves that caused one of the valves to fail after an earlier unplanned shutdown in February 2013.NRC Administrator Dan Dorman said in a statement that the most recent violation “highlights the continuing weaknesses in the implementation of Entergy’s program for identifying, evaluating and resolving problems at Pilgrim” and that the NRC’s increased oversight would “focus on understanding the reasons for those weaknesses and the actions needed to achieve sustained improvements.”
In response to Baker’s letter, Bill Mohl, president of Entergy Wholesale Commodities, said in a statement Thursday that “Entergy continues to operate Pilgrim Station safely and under the watchful eye of the [NRC].”
Mohl added:
We have made changes and equipment upgrades that have already resulted in positive enhancements to operational reliability. We will work closely with the Governor, the NRC and all stakeholders to make sure that we communicate the steps we are taking to improve plant operations as we continue to operate safely going forward.
Baker told reporters Wednesday that he had confidence in the safety of the plant, a comment that earned the ire of state Sen. Dan Wolf, who represents the Cape and Islands.“On the very day that the [NRC] placed Pilgrim among the three worst reactors in our nation, our governor issued an off-hand, simplistic comment about the plant being ‘safe,’ ” Wolf said in a statement. “It is irresponsible for the governor of our Commonwealth, without due diligence, to make a comment like that instead of voicing concerns about what many of us know is the biggest public safety threat in Massachusetts.”
Wolf is a vocal opponent of the plant, which he says “threatens not just the health of our communities, but our entire way of life."
Baker noted in his letter to Entergy that the NRC has determined that Pilgrim continues to operate in a safe manner.
With reporting by The Associated Press
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