MONTPELIER, Vt. -
The Vermont Public Service Board is trying
to wrap up more than two weeks of hearings on whether to grant Vermont Yankee a
permit to continue operating.
The Montpelier hearings are identical
to ones that started four years ago but were scuttled after the Legislature
voted to shut the plant down and triggered an avalanche of litigation.
Entergy officials Tuesday once again
tried to assure the Board the company has come a long way in the last three
years since revelations of leaking underground pipes and a cooling tower
collapse, and that the company can be a trusted partner.
"There are just a
number of things that are different in today's environment that we as an
organization have learned and are trying to employ to make sure that
information that's provided to the state and to the board is accurate,"
said Bernard Buteau of Entergy.
Despite a management
shakeup at the company, Department of Public Service officials testified there
is still a lot of uncertainty about whether the company can be trusted to play
by the regulatory rules of the road.
Yankee's Certificate of
Public good expired last year, but a judge's ruling has allowed the plant to
keep operating until the federal case wraps up.
