Entergy Louisiana announced today its plan to refuel its Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor, even though it used the threat of shutting down in an attempt to pressure federal Judge Garvan Murtha into granting it permission to continue operating while its lawsuit winds through the courts.
“Entergy Louisiana’s senior nuclear executive and its high-priced lawyer both told the court that they’d likely shut the plant permanently if the judge didn’t give in to their demands. Judge Murtha refused and called their irresponsible bluff. So now they’re showing that those threats were more lies and instead they will refuel the plant with plans to run the facility past its March, 2012 retirement date,” said Paul Burns, VPIRG’s executive director.
“This is only the latest example of Entergy Louisiana’s irresponsibility, a key reason why Vermont’s state government is solidly committed to retiring the old and unreliable reactor as scheduled,” Burns added.