The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has rejected the state's request to take a closer look at Entergy Vermont Yankee's decommissioning trust fund.
Less than one month after the Vernon plant ceased operations in 2014, the state asked the NRC to make sure that Entergy had enough money to safely decommission the plant.
The state argued that federal regulators needed to limit the money Entergy could remove from the fund for activities other than radiological decommissioning.
NRC Spokesman Neil Sheehan says Entergy has 60 years to decommission the plant, and even though the company might complete the work in less time, the fund has enough money to satisfy the regulators
"In terms of that timeframe the company should have sufficient funding to not only carry out radiological decommissioning, but also to perform other activities and use the money for other uses,” Sheehan said.
The NRC will continue to rule on each proposed withdrawal, such as the most recent request by Entergy to use the fund to pay its property tax.
