Members of the Shut It Down! affinity group, which has conducted a large number of nonviolent civil disobedience actions against Vermont YankeeIn an article by entitled "The Battle over the Fate of Vermont Yankee," the Brattleboro Reformer recapped a momentous 2012, and previewed a fateful 2013. The past year saw a federal judge rule in favor of Entergy Nuclear, that the state had overstepped into U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) jurisdiction on safety matters. However, in the same ruling, the judge upheld the State of Vermont Public Service Board's (PSB) authority to grant -- or deny -- a Certificate of Public Good (CPG). The PSB is currently taking public comment on whether, or not, it should allow Entergy to continue to do business in the Green Mountain State.
2012 also saw a large-scale non-violent civil disobedience (NVCD) action at Entergy's Vermont headquarters in Vernon, with over 1,000 marchers, and 130 arrests, in protest of the Vermont Yankee (VY) atomic reactor's first day of its NRC rubberstamped 20-year license extension on March 22nd. Also, the Shut It Down! affinity group (pictured, left) continued their waves of NVCD arrests at Vermont Yankee, and received their first convictions for trespassing; they refuse to pay the fines, however, and vow to continue their actions.
As 2013 dawns, lawsuits are being launched, back and forth. The Vermont Attorney General will present oral arguments at the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City on Jan. 14th, seeking to overturn the Entergy v. State of Vermont ruling from a year ago. Later this month, the New England Coalition is arguing before the Vermont Supreme Court that, without a renewed CPG, Entergy should not be allowed to operate VY one more day.