VERNON, Vt. (AP) – The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant has been ordered to stop releasing warmer water into the Connecticut River.
Environmental Court Judge Merideth Wright said the environmental groups suing to block the releases have shown a “substantial possibility that they will prevail.”
The warm water being released from the plant could harm fish in the river, particularly the American shad, the judge wrote.
“Appellants have shown sufficient potential for irreparable injury to American shad in the Connecticut River, both at present as the juveniles become accustomed to cooler water temperatures prior to their migration down the river in the fall, and in the summer of 2007 for the growth of the next generation of juveniles,” the judge wrote in a four-page ruling.
Last March, the Agency of Natural Resources issued Vermont Yankee a permit allowing it to increase the temperature of the water it discharges into the Connecticut River.
The Connecticut River Watershed Council of Saxtons River is appealing the discharge permit. A trial is scheduled for January.
State Rep. David Deen, D-Westminster, the river steward for the council, said Monday’s ruling was a victory for the river.
Deen said about 500 American shad pass a hydroelectric dam in Vernon each year, Deen said.
About 150,000 shad a year pass through a similar dam down river in Holyoke, Mass.
“It appears as the temperature of the Connecticut River has gone up after Vermont Yankee’s discharges, the number of fish has gone down,” he said.
Plant spokesman Rob Williams said the facility had a full-time environmental staff and there was no evidence the warmer releases hurt the fish. Vermont Yankee will comply with the judge’s ruling.
“Good stewardship of the river is important to us,” Williams said. “We’re looking forward to making our case for the new permit when the appeal is heard next year.”
The power plant uses Connecticut River to cool steam used to produce electricity. Releasing warmer water into the river can save Vermont Yankee the costs of sending the water through the plant’s cooling towers.
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Information from: Rutland Herald, http://www.rutlandherald.com/
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