Rotary Meeting Minutes 11/4/15
Scribe: Valerie Stuart
 
Members absent: Mark Ethier, Jerry Goldberg, Drew Hazelton, Jim Maxwell, Ralph Meima.
 
Quote: “The early bird gets the worm, but it’s the second mouse that gets the cheese.” Stephen Wright
 
Many thanks to our greeter: Nick D. Next week Jim V. will be our greeter.
 
Next week our scribe will be Sandy S. On 11/18 Will S. will record our meeting minutes. And on 12/2 Tristan will be our scribe.
 
Our guest today was Joseph Lynch, Manager of Government Affairs, Entergy Vermont Yankee.
 
Student Rotarian Reports
 
Sam, one of our Hinsdale High School (HHS) Student Rotarians reported that the school has a Christmas Bazaar and Chinese Auction coming up on November 21.
 
Sebastian, who also attends HHS, focused on the school’s Extended Learning Opportunity program, which permits students to get involved in a business or profession that interests them and receive school credit for this learning opportunity.
 
Brattleboro Union High School (BUHS) Student Rotarian John noted,
that the high school has a Dodge Ball Tournament coming up.
 
Molly, another BUHS Student Rotarian, spoke about the success of the high school’s Future Business Leaders of America’s recent blood drive.
 
Emily, our third Student Rotarian from BUHS, said the high school is now gearing up for its Ear Muff drive. She also reported that the high school’s Feed the Thousands Kick Off will be on November 17.  
 
Committee Reports
 
Jen informed everyone that our club will be in charge of providing dinner at the Overflow Shelter at the Baptist Church on the third Wednesday of every month from 5:30 – 7:30. She passed around a sign up sheet for volunteers. Contact Jen, if you would like to volunteer.
 
Amelia said that she and Tristam have discussed having our club’s holiday party at Naulakha. They will provide additional details soon.
 
Tristam is still offering coffee for a good cause at $12 a bag. He also talked about his visit to Detroit’s Centennial Club, which was the 16th Rotary Club founded in the world. He said he was there to evaluate a literacy program there that has been operating for 31 years. He noted that it is featured in the most recent issue of Rotary magazine on the World Round Up page in the section on the United States.
 
Kevin gave us an update on Project Feed the Thousands, which will kick off on November 13th. Our club’s pick-ups will start on November 16th. He passed around a sign up sheet for volunteers and said all pick-ups must be delivered by 4:30 pm. We also need people to put up posters advertising the food drive at their places of business. For a poster or to sign up to help, see Kevin.
 
Kevin also encouraged everyone to get to know our Student Rotarians by chatting with them. This morning in a conversation with Molly he found out that she is a lacrosse player and a horseback rider. He horse’s name is Chai. She also has a dog whose name is Ginger.
 
Jason gave us a report on the Dinner Raffle. The club’s goal is to have each member sell 10 raffle books, which cost $25 for 6 tickets or $5 a chance. Top prizes are 5 $100 gift certificates to Duo, Peter Havens, Whetstone Station, Panda North and The Marina. Two runners up will receive $50 gift certificates to T.J. Buckley’s and Fireworks. Contact Jason for flyers promoting the dinner raffle or to get your tickets.
Proceeds from the Raffle will be used to fund the pavilion honoring our club’s charter president, John Penfield, and our club’s 20th anniversary.
 
Sandy S. announced that Trivia Night is on November 9th. Everyone is encouraged to participate.
 
Ali noted that the club’s board meeting will take place tomorrow morning (11/5/15) at WKVT at 7:15 AM.
 
Ali also notified club members that future speaker assignments are as follows:
 
Nov. 11 – Ed (Club Assembly), Nov. 18 - Nick B., Nov. 25 – Mark E. , Dec. 2 – Booie.
 
No birthdays were celebrated.
 
And we were all losers when it came to cards!
 
Brags
 
Turner said he and Kay has a wonderful vacation, visiting relatives in New York and Michigan. They also attended Kay’s 50th high school reunion in San Jose, Michigan as well as his high school reunion. They also had a great time visiting Nashville.
 
Marcy said that her Haunted Halloween House was a frightful success and attracted over 300 trick or treaters.  She said that she and her husband adopted one of the smallest visitors, who they learned through Facebook, was a neighborhood kitten without a home. Guess what the named the kitty. Boo!
 
Speaking of Boo, I mean Booie, she and Bob are again running their annual Secret Santa program to ensure that needy children in our area receive gifts for the holidays. She noted that the program has grown from providing gifts to 75 children the year they first started, to 4-500 kids a year. If you would like to participate contact Booie at Dr. Robert Fagelson’s office in Brattleboro. You can select the age and gender of the child (or children) you would like to share the holiday spirit with.
 
Jill bragged regarding the Retreat’s new CEO Louis Josephson. He will be at the institution’s helm as of March 1, 2016. Rob Simpson steps down at the end of December 2015.
 
Jill also noted that the unfiltered all natural olive oil from Morocco that she and her husband sell is now being offered at the Brattleboro Food Co-op. She will be bringing some of the products to our meeting next week if you are interested.
 
Sandy L. said that she will miss our meeting next week because she will be visiting her father in Florida.
 
Will S. recounted that his 29-year-old son, Nick, recently popped the question to his sweetheart recently during a romantic get away in the Florida keys. The couple plans to have the wedding here in the Green Mountain State sometime next year.
 
 
Guest Speaker
 
Joseph Lynch, Manager Government Affairs, Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee was our speaker. He brought us up to date on the plant’s recent and future history. The highlights of his presentation follow.
 
VY’s Current Plant Status & Milestones
 
Vermont Yankee ceased power operations on December 29, 2014 after 633 days of continuous power operation – a record for the site.
 
On January 12, 2015, all nuclear fuel was removed from the reactor and placed in the Spent Fuel Pool (SFP).
 
On January 12, 2015, VYNPS certified to the NRC that the reactor had permanently ceased operations and was permanently defueled.
 
VYNPS continues to be overseen by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) as part of its Decommissioning Inspection Program.
 
Vermont Yankee’s Timeline
 
August 27, 2013Entergy announces it will cease operations.
September 23, 2013 – Entergy submits notification of intent to cease operations to NRC.
January 12, 2015 – Fuel permanently removed from reactor vessel.
February 5, 2015 – Implemented post-shutdown emergency plan.
April 2016 – Implement permanently defueled emergency plan.
 
Phase 1 of Safstor began in February of 2015 and will continue until April of 2016. Phase 2 of Safstor will take place from April 2016 until 2020.
Implementation of the ISFSI emergency plan will occur in 2020.
 
Staffing Transition to Decommissioning
 
Between 2013 – 2014 during the plant’s final years of operation the plant’s staff tasked with handling the reactor’s  operation, safety and decom planning was 550 personnel.
 
From 2015 until roughly the middle of 2016 there will be 275 personnel responsible for the first phase of Safstor and wet fuel (hot) management.
 
From approximately the second half of 2016 until 2020 during the second phase of Safstor there will be 127 personnel in charge of wet fuel (cool) management.
 
From 2021 on there will be 75 people responsible for dry fuel management and security at the plant.
 
Current Dry Fuel Storage Status
 
Thirteen (13) Dry Fuel Storage Casks are safely loaded and stored on the first of two (2) Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) pads.
 
Application for a second ISFSI pad was submitted on June 30, 2014 to the Vermont Public Service Board (PSB) seeking a Certificate of Public Good (CPG).  Approval expected in May 2016
 
An additional forty-five (45) Dry Fuel Storage Casks for a total of
fifty-eight (58) will be loaded and stored on the two pads.
 
Current plan is to transfer all spent fuel to Dry Cask Storage by 2020.
 
 
Decommissioning Cost Estimate Breakdown
 
License Termination: $817 million
 
Spent Fuel Management: $368 million
 
Site Restoration: $57 million
 
Total Cost: $1.242 billion
 
 
Decommissioning Cost Estimate and Nuclear Decommissioning Trust (NDT)
 
Spent Fuel Management - $368 Million
 
  • Operational costs -               $225 Million
  • Transfer to dry storage -     $143 Million
    • To fund “transfer to dry storage”, ENVY established two (2) credit lines totaling $145 Million
    • Reduces Spent Fuel Management impact to NDT
 
VY Decommissioning Update
 
Decommissioning Preparation Activities
  • System Draining/Lay-Up
  • Building Power and Services Removal - Ongoing
  • Security Modifications/Enhancements Ongoing
 
Completed Select Structure/Building Removal
 
Emergency Plan Drill Conducted – October 21, 2015
  • Part of ongoing training and Emergency Response Organization (ERO) qualifications.
  •  
Completion of Second ISFSI Pad and Commence Transfer of Remaining Spent Fuel from Pool to Pad
 
Vermont State Agency Interactions
 
  • Agency of Natural Resources (ANR)
    • Site Visit/Inspection on May 18, 2015 noted minor issues with labeling, waste characterization and inventory records.
    • Received a Notice of Alleged Violation (NOAV) from ANR with a response provided on September 9th. All issues have been corrected.
    • Working with ANR Waste Management & Prevention Division as well as the River Corridor & Floodplain Protection Division on interface issues.
 
  • Department of Health (VDH)
    • Response to April 2, 2015 Request For Information (RFI) provided to VDH on April 22nd, as well as invitation for face-to-face meeting to discuss any questions.
 
  • Public Service Board (PSB)
    • Status Conference held before the PSB on April 29, 2015 to discuss Docket No. 8300 seeking a Certificate of Public Good (CPG) authorizing the construction of a 2nd ISFSI pad and related improvements including installation of a new 200 kW diesel generator.
    • PSB issued a Scheduling Order on May 6, 2015.
    • Public Hearing was conducted on June 4, 2015.
    • Intervention was granted to NEC, WRC and the Town of Vernon.
    • Approval expected in May of 2016.
 
  • Public Service Department
    • State intervention in approvals from NRC regarding decommissioning regulatory issues (Emergency Planning, NDT)
 
Open Communications and Transparency
 
Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel (NDCAP) – Next meeting November 12th at 6:00 p.m. in Vernon (Elementary School)
 
Stakeholder Outreach: Speaking Engagements, Community Involvement, and Facility Tour
 
Employee Communications
  • ‘Making the Transition’ Website
Vermont Yankee Decommissioning website:
      
www.vydecommissioning.com
 
Keys to Project Success
 
Collaboration not Confrontation
  • All Stakeholders (including Entergy) Working Together as a Team Ensures Project Success
 
Stewards of the Nuclear Decommissioning Trust (NDT)
  • Awareness that the current set of issues is eroding the NDT and impacting the start of Decommissioning.
 
With the Closure of VY, Change will Continue
  • Reductions in Staff/Project Costs/Project Plan
 
Our Employees and our Commitment to Safety will Always be our Key Focus