BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — The owners of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant will ask a federal judge to block the state’s efforts to close the Vernon reactor when its current license expires in March.

Judge J. Garvan Murtha of the U.S. District Court in Brattleboro begins two days of hearings today on whether he should issue a preliminary injunction to block Vermont from closing the plant while the underlying legal battle plays out.

Additional Photos

In this May 29, 2010 file photo, Shawn Cole, 12, of Hinsdale, N.H., left, and Peter Rosploch, 11, of Winchester, N.H. fish in the Connecticut River across from the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. In 2010, the Vermont Senate was so troubled by tritium leaks as high as 2.5 million picocuries per liter at the Vermont Yankee reactor in southern Vermont (125 times the EPA drinking-water standard) that it voted to block relicensing _ a power that the Legislature holds in that state. But in March 2011, the NRC granted the plant a 20-year license extension, despite the state opposition. Afterwards, operator Entergy sued Vermont in federal court, challenging its authority to force the plant to close. (AP Photo/Jason R. Henske)
In this May 29, 2010 file photo, Shawn Cole, 12, of Hinsdale, N.H., left, and Peter Rosploch, 11, of Winchester, N.H. fish in the Connecticut River across from the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. In 2010, the Vermont Senate was so troubled by tritium leaks as high as 2.5 million picocuries per liter at the Vermont Yankee reactor in southern Vermont (125 times the EPA drinking-water standard) that it voted to block relicensing _ a power that the Legislature holds in that state. But in March 2011, the NRC granted the plant a 20-year license extension, despite the state opposition. Afterwards, operator Entergy sued Vermont in federal court, challenging its authority to force the plant to close. (AP Photo/Jason R. Henske) AP

Vermont Yankee owner Entergy Corp. maintains in court papers that it is likely to prevail when the full case goes to trial. It says it already meets the other legal test of irreparable harm because uncertainty about the plant’s future is causing valuable employees to leave.

 

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