Vermont

The legal issues in the case are obscure: whereas the Supreme Court has ruled that states do have some regulatory authority over nuclear power, legal scholars say that Vermont case will offer a precedent-setting test of how far those powers extend.

The conflict has been surfacing since 2002, when the corporation bought Vermont’s only nuclear power plant, an aging reactor in Vernon.

The company, a major energy supplier in New England, provoked justified outrage in Vermont last week when it announced it was reneging on a longstanding commitment to abide by the strict nuclear regulations.

The company seems to have concluded that its reputation in Vermont is already so damaged that it has noting left to lose by going to war with the state.

Instead, the company has done precisely what it had long promised it would not challenge the constitutionality of Vermont’s rules in the federal court, as part of a desperate effort to keep its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant running.

In 2006, the state went a step further, requiring that any extension of the plant’s license be subject to Vermont legislature’s approval.

Enraged by Entergy’s behavior, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 last year against allowing an extension.

A string of accidents, including the partial collapse of a cooling tower in 207 and the discovery of an underground pipe system leakage, raised serious questions about both Vermont Yankee’s safety and Entergy’s management- especially after the company made misleading statements about the pipe.

A string of accidents, including the partial collapse of a cooling tower in 2007 and the discovery of an underground pipe system leakage, raised serious questions about both Vermont Yankee's safety and Entergy's management– especially after the company ma

Enraged by Entergy's behavior, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 last year against allowing an extension.

In 2006, the state went a step further, requiring that any extension of the plant's license be subject to Vermont legislature's approval.

Instead, the company has done precisely what it had long promised it would not: challenge the constitutionality of Vermont's rules in the federal court, as part of a desperate effort to keep its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant running.