Jim Volz has publicly testified in favor of the nuclear power plant's so-called dry cask storage plan while serving in his previous job.
Brattleboro Reformer - Headlines: "NNuclear watchdog asks PSB chief to step aside
By KRISTI CECCAROSSI
Reformer Staff
MONTPELIER -- A nuclear watchdog group wants the chairman of the state's Public Service Board to recuse himself from upcoming hearings over whether Vermont Yankee can setup on-site radioactive waste storage.
The New England Coalition says Chairman Jim Volz has publicly testified in favor of the nuclear power plant's so-called dry cask storage plan while serving in his previous job.
Volz was appointed to the Public Service Board this March by Gov. James Douglas. Before that, Volz headed the Public Advocacy Division of the Department of Public Service. He worked specifically on energy issues.
As soon as today, Volz could announce whether or not he will grant the coalition's request. At 1:30 p.m., in the capital, the Public Service Board, or a representative of the board, will meet to set the schedule for hearings on the dry cask proposal.
The board is a three-member, quasi-judicial panel. It will decide if installing the steel and concrete containers to hold high-level nuclear waste at the Vernon plant is in the best interest of the state.
The case could take up to a year, or possibly longer. It was Volz, not the anti-nuclear group, who first raised the issue of a possible conflict of interest.
In a letter dated July 20, he disclosed his work on the issue in his previous job to all parties in the case. Volz worked at the state's Department of Public Service from 1985 until his appointment to the Public Service Board.
"While at the department, I was involved in general discussions with department staff concerning dry cask storage," he wrote. "To the best of my recollection ... I neither was involved in any discussions concerning specific dry storage at Vermont Yankee, nor gained knowledge of any facts concerning the dry cask storage proposal."
Volz asked parties to respond by Aug. 3 if they objected to his participation in the case.
"It is entirely counter-intuitive to allow that even with an extreme hands-off management style, a director of a division with just six attorneys would not ... have acquired a general knowledge how a key and well-publicized issue was being handled within the department," wrote Ray Shadis, technical adviser for the New England Coalition, in his response to Volz's letter.
Neither Volz nor any representative of the Public Service Board would comment this week on the coalition's request.
This is not the first time the dry cask proposal will circulate in Montpelier. It dominated discussions during the last legislative session. Lawmakers punctuated debate in June with a bill allowing Vermont Yankee officials to apply to the Public Service Board for permission to construct the storage containers.
Throughout the legislative session, Gov. Douglas supported the storage. So did the Department of Public Service -- with Jim Volz often lobbying in favor of it on the department's behalf, says Shadis.
And the dry cask issue was not the only one where Volz, representing the Department of Public Service, backed Vermont Yankee.
In last year's Public Service Board case on whether to allow Vermont Yankee to pursue a 20 percent boost in its power output, Volz advocated for it. He also lobbied against requests from nuclear watchdogs that the state demand Vermont Yankee conduct an independent safety review.
"His department was Entergy's advocate through and through," Shadis said.
Nuclear waste at the plant is currently stored in a 40-feet deep pool in the reactor building. It will reportedly be filled to capacity by 2008 or 2007, if the Vermont Yankee wins federal approval to increase power by 20 percent.
The casks will be used to store the older -- less "hot" -- fuel assemblies stored in the pool, making way for newer ones that will be taken from the reactor's core.
New England Coalition does not oppose dry cask storage but wants to insure that the project is done in the safest way possible."
By KRISTI CECCAROSSI
Reformer Staff
MONTPELIER -- A nuclear watchdog group wants the chairman of the state's Public Service Board to recuse himself from upcoming hearings over whether Vermont Yankee can setup on-site radioactive waste storage.
The New England Coalition says Chairman Jim Volz has publicly testified in favor of the nuclear power plant's so-called dry cask storage plan while serving in his previous job.
Volz was appointed to the Public Service Board this March by Gov. James Douglas. Before that, Volz headed the Public Advocacy Division of the Department of Public Service. He worked specifically on energy issues.
As soon as today, Volz could announce whether or not he will grant the coalition's request. At 1:30 p.m., in the capital, the Public Service Board, or a representative of the board, will meet to set the schedule for hearings on the dry cask proposal.
The board is a three-member, quasi-judicial panel. It will decide if installing the steel and concrete containers to hold high-level nuclear waste at the Vernon plant is in the best interest of the state.
The case could take up to a year, or possibly longer. It was Volz, not the anti-nuclear group, who first raised the issue of a possible conflict of interest.
In a letter dated July 20, he disclosed his work on the issue in his previous job to all parties in the case. Volz worked at the state's Department of Public Service from 1985 until his appointment to the Public Service Board.
"While at the department, I was involved in general discussions with department staff concerning dry cask storage," he wrote. "To the best of my recollection ... I neither was involved in any discussions concerning specific dry storage at Vermont Yankee, nor gained knowledge of any facts concerning the dry cask storage proposal."
Volz asked parties to respond by Aug. 3 if they objected to his participation in the case.
"It is entirely counter-intuitive to allow that even with an extreme hands-off management style, a director of a division with just six attorneys would not ... have acquired a general knowledge how a key and well-publicized issue was being handled within the department," wrote Ray Shadis, technical adviser for the New England Coalition, in his response to Volz's letter.
Neither Volz nor any representative of the Public Service Board would comment this week on the coalition's request.
This is not the first time the dry cask proposal will circulate in Montpelier. It dominated discussions during the last legislative session. Lawmakers punctuated debate in June with a bill allowing Vermont Yankee officials to apply to the Public Service Board for permission to construct the storage containers.
Throughout the legislative session, Gov. Douglas supported the storage. So did the Department of Public Service -- with Jim Volz often lobbying in favor of it on the department's behalf, says Shadis.
And the dry cask issue was not the only one where Volz, representing the Department of Public Service, backed Vermont Yankee.
In last year's Public Service Board case on whether to allow Vermont Yankee to pursue a 20 percent boost in its power output, Volz advocated for it. He also lobbied against requests from nuclear watchdogs that the state demand Vermont Yankee conduct an independent safety review.
"His department was Entergy's advocate through and through," Shadis said.
Nuclear waste at the plant is currently stored in a 40-feet deep pool in the reactor building. It will reportedly be filled to capacity by 2008 or 2007, if the Vermont Yankee wins federal approval to increase power by 20 percent.
The casks will be used to store the older -- less "hot" -- fuel assemblies stored in the pool, making way for newer ones that will be taken from the reactor's core.
New England Coalition does not oppose dry cask storage but wants to insure that the project is done in the safest way possible."
posted by Greta Jane at Thursday, August 11, 2005
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