Legislative report

2010-Feb-01
by Thomas Weiss

Vermont Legislature - Week of February 2 - February 8, 2010 (prepared by Thomas Weiss, citizen of Vermont, from information provided by the legislative council and from personal observation.)

NEW BILLS: This gives the title and my brief summary. One can get any bill in the bill corridor of the state house or on line at www.leg.state.vt.us/database/status/status.cfm .

H.566 - Existing agricultural methane electric generation plants. This bill will make existing agricultural methane electric generation plants eligible to be paid the price that new plants of the same type get under the sustainably priced energy enterprise development program's standard offer. Representative Bray is the main sponsor and there are 19 other others. The bill was sent to House Natural Resources and Energy on 1/28/10.

H.585 - Transition of wetlands regulations. This bill will make the transition section of act 31 of 2009, which came from H.447 - Wetlands protection. This bill will make the transition section of H.447 effective January 1, 2010 instead of 45 days after revised wetlands rules and wetlands maps are created. The transition section makes wetlands in a proposed rule be treated as a significant wetland until determined otherwise. This means that all wetlands in the proposed rule will be treated as significant wetlands retroactively back to January 1, 2010 instead of three months from now at the end of the rule-making process. (NOTE: draft rules are available and a public hearing on them is scheduled for February 19, 2010 between 6 and 8 p. m. via Vermont Interactive Television and on March 9 between 2 and 3 p. m. at the office of the Water Resources Panel at the National Life Building in Montpelier. Public comments will be accepted through 4:30 p. m. on March 31, 2010 at their office. Information on the proposed rule and maps can be gotten from the panel at 828-3305 or by the internet at http://www.nrb.state.vt.us/wrp/rulemaking/wetlands2010/wetlands.htm . Representative Deen is the sole sponsor of the bill. The bill was sent to House Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources on 1/28/10.

H.586 - Municipal authority to condition issuance of a zoning permit upon issuance of a wastewater or potable water supply permit. Municipalities now have the authority to have a zoning bylaw that prohibits construction until a wastewater and potable water supply permit is issued. This bill will change that authority to allow a municipality to prohibit issuing zoning permit until a wastewater and water supply permit is issued. Representative Haas is the sole sponsor. The bill was sent to House Government Operations on 1/28/10.

H.586 - Facilitating regular meetings of the Vermont state nuclear advisory panel. This bill will authorize the commissioner of public service to have a designee on the panel. The commissioner is now the only administration official who is not authorized to have a chair. The bill will authorize any two members to call a meeting or the commissioner of public service or designee to call a meeting. Now only the commissioner may call a meeting. Representative Edwards is the sole sponosr. The bill was sent to House Government Operations on 1/28/10.

H.588 - Nuclear energy generation and the institution of trusts for greenfield restoration and spent fuel management. This bill will require the owner of any nuclear power generation plant in Vermont to establish a trust for greenfield restoration and a trust for spent fuel management. The trusts will need to be fully funded by March 22, 2012. The trusts will be subject to Vermont law. The public service board will determine whether the trusts are adequate under the requirements of the bill. Representative Klein is the main sponsor and their is one other sponsor. The bill was sent to House Natural Resources and Energy on 1/28/10.

H.592 - Development and permitting of hydroelectric projects. This bill is an expanded version of S.190 - Establishing a general permit for the certification of hydroelectric projects. This bill will require the secretary of natural resources to adopt by rule a general permit for hydro-electric projects. The general permit will cover projects that:

provide reasonable assurance of compliance with the Vermont water quality standards,
use conduits (which are defined as conveying water not primarily for the production of electricity),
do not have a bypass reach or will have a small bypass reach.,
are operating in compliance with a previously issued certification under section 401 of the clean water act, or
the secretary of natural resources concludes are suitable for coverage under a general permit.

In addition, H.592 will:

require the secretary of natural resources to provide a hydro-electric developer with a federal clean water act section 1341 certification before the developer's submission to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
require the secretary of natural resources to establish a pilot program for the general permit that will include the Vermont Tissue site on the Wallomsac River,and the Basin Farm site on the Saxton's River and up to three more sites
establish a standard offer price of $0.15 per kilowatt-hour for hydro-electricity under the sustainably priced energy enterprise development program.

Representative Krawczyk is the main sponsor and their are 38 other sponsors. The bill was sent to House Natural Resources and Energy on 1/28/10.

H.593 - Potable water supply and wastewater system permits. This bill will require an applicant for such a permit to notify the town clerk and any property owner whose land may be encumbered by isolation distances for the proposed system.. The bill will amend the requirements for filing and indexing of permits and certifications in the municipal records. This bill will not prevent such encumbrances; it will only require that they be minimized and that the encumbrance be filed by the secretary of natural resources Representative Manwaring is the is the main sponsor and their is one other sponsor. The bill was sent to House Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources on 1/28/10.

H.601 - Farm-to-Plate investment program. This bill will provide the farm-to-plate investment program with $100,000 from stabilization funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for fiscal year 2011. Representative Bray is the main sponsor and there are 25 other sponsors. The money will be for grants to implement their business plans or extend capacities or capabilities. Representative Bray is the main sponsor and there are 25 other sponsors. The bill was sent to House Agriculture on 1/28/10.

H.603 - Sale of electricity within discrete areas of the electric grid. This bill will allow a generator of electricity to sell electricity within a discrete portion of the service territory of a distribution utility. This bill will in effect allow group net metering for the discrete service area. A discrete area will be an industrial park or an area with limited points of connection with the existing distribution network. The public service board will be required to develop rules for such sales. Representative Masland is the main sponsor and there are 8 other sponsors. The bill was sent to Hose Natural Resources and Energy on 1/28/10.

H.604 - Local zoning bylaws and agriculture. This bill will remove raising, feeding, or management of domestic animals from the accepted agricultural and silvicultural practices in certain areas. Those areas are residential or mixed use areas with a minimum lot size no more than two acres and adjoining a downtown, new town center, or village center or a district with a planned density of lots no more than one acre in size; in a downtown, new town center, or village center; or in a commercial or industrial district with minimum lot size no more than one acre. The effect of this is to allow a municipality to regulate raising, feeding, or management of domestic animals in the types of district listed above. Representative Koch is the main sponsor and there is one other sponsor. The bill was sent to Hose Government Operations on 1/28/10.

H.614 - Regulation of composting. This bill will remove the construction of improvements below 2500 feet elevation for composting from the requirements of act 250, with lots of conditions. To be exempt from act 250 it will need to meet only one of the following: use no more than 100 cubic yards of material per year; be principally produced on the farm; be principally used on the farm where produced; on livestock or poultry farms use only manure produced on the farm with imports of up to 2,000 cubic yards of organic inputs (acceptable management practices) and unlimited high-carbon bulking agents; or on farms producing vegetable (in the broad sense) products with up to 5,000 cubic yards of approved organic matter, of which no more than 2,000 cubic yards are food residuals. The bill will also define a farm for purposes of this exclusion of certain composting facilities under act 250. Representative Deen is the sole sponsor. The bill was sent to House Agriculture on 1/28/10 and then transferred to House Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources on 1/29/10..

H.625 - Controlling wild parsnip. This bill will require the secretary (although the bill does not specify which secretary) to adjust mowing schedules to minimize the growth and spread of wild parsnip from state highways, state forest highways, management roads, easements, and rights-of-way administered by the secretary's agency (apparently transportation) and the agency of natural resources and its three departments. Representative Miller is the main sponsor and there are 20 other sponsors. The bill was sent to House Transportation on 1/28/10.

H.637 - Additional payment for solar power that is net metered. This bill will require electric utilities to pay net-metered (and group net-metered) generators of solar electricity a rate to be set by the Public Service Board for each kilowatt-hour generated for the system; the rate will be $0.06 per kilowatt-hour until the Public Service Board sets a different rate. The utility buying the solar electricity will own any tradeable renewable energy credits. for the electricity that it purchases. Representative Fisher is the sole sponsor of the bill. The bill was sent to House Natural Resources and Energy on 1/29/10.

H.640 - State approval of international trade agreements. This bill will increase the size of the commission on international trade and state sovereignty to 13 members by adding one more state representative, one more state senator, the secretary of agriculture (or designee), and one representative each from a human rights organization and the Vermont chamber of commerce. The bill will also require legislative approval before a state official can bind the state to a trade agreement provision submitted by the United States trade representative. Representative Keenan is the sole sponsor.. The bill was sent to House Commerce and Economic Development on 1/29/10.

H.642 - Use value appraisal program. This bill will require that land enrolled in the (current) use value program that is posted have a valuation up to 2.5% more than land that is not posted. Representative Howard is the main sponsor and there are two other sponsors. The bill was sent to House Ways and Means on 1/29/10.

H.652 - The use of transfer of development rights for off-site mitigation of primary agricultural soils. Current zoning statutes allow a municipality to transfer development rights from one parcel to allow higher density of development on another parcel within the municipality. This bill will establish conditions under which such a transfer of development rights will be deemed to comply with the agricultural protection and mitigation requirements of Act 250. Representative Head is the sole sponsor. The bill was sent to House Natural Resources and Energy on 1/29/10.

H.653 -Program to invest in clean energy to serve Vermont's electricity needs. This bill will create a Vermont clean energy investment program. The program will be funded with a renewable investment charge of 3 cents per kilowatt hour. (NOTES: Most residential electric rates are around 13 cents per kilowatt hour plus the fixed monthly charges. Vermont uses about 6,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity each year, so this will raise about $18,00,000 each year.) However, low-income users will not be charged for this charge and all other users will be allowed to alter their charge from nothing up to 5 cents per kilowatt-hour. Funds will be granted by the program to Vermont retail electricity providers for capital costs of renewable energy plants that they will build in Vermont. A portion of the funds will support a revolving loan fund to provide below-market financing of renewable energy plants owned by customers of Vermont retail electricity providers. Such a plant will not be eligible if it exceeds 250 kilowatts of capacity. The program will be administered by the existing clean energy development board. Representative Klein is the sole sponsor. The bill was sent to House Natural Resources and Energy on 1/29/10.

H.654 - Permitting and construction of renewable energy plants.

This bill will alter the consolidated environmental appeals process. Now a person appealing a decision of the secretary of natural resources concerning a renewable energy project needing a certificate of public good from the public service board must appeal that decision to the environmental court. This bill will allow a person making an appeal on that type of project to appeal instead to the public service board.
This bill will allow a person appealing a municipal decision on a renewable energy plant requiring a certificate of public good to appeal to the public service board.
This bill will remove certain criteria for a certificate of public good for the siting of a temporary meteorological tower. The criteria that will not apply are need; system stability and reliability; economic benefit; integrated resource plan; compliance with electric energy plan; waste to energy facility; and existing or planned transmission facilities. The board will be required to issue a final decision on a temporary meteorological tower within five months of receiving a completed application. The bill will prohibit the public service board from holding a hearing on a petition for a temporary meteorological tower if the petitioner claims no undue adverse effect on aesthetics, historic sites, air and water purity, the natural environment and the public health and safety, unless another party rebuts that by a qualified expert.
The bill will define a standard meteorological station as less than 260 feet tall, will remain no more than 5 years, will not create new roads or trails, will not clear more than 2 acres, will not be connected to transmission or distribution lines, and will not require a notice of construction or alteration under regulations of the Federal Aviation Administration. Certain provisions of petition and notice will not apply to standard meteorological towers. Applications for standard meteorological towers will use simplified forms. The public service board will not hold a hearing unless a party requests one and submits evidence from a qualified expert concerning a significant issue within 10 days of the filing of the application. If a hearing will be held, notice of the hearing is reduced to 5 days. The board will be required to issue a decision within 30 days of receiving a complete application.
The bill will require alter the interconnection requirements for generating plants accepting a standard offer under the sustainably priced energy enterprise development program. Plants with a capacity no more than 150 kilowatts will use the same interconnection requirements as a net-metered system of the same capacity. Plants with a capacity of more than 150 kilowatts will use the 2009 model interconnection procedures of the interstate renewable energy council.
The bill will allow a developer of a renewable energy plant above 2500 feet elevation to petition the public service board to waive state law requirements pertaining to operational discharges. The board will waive such requirements if it finds that the developer has alternative measures that will comply with applicable water quality standards. Waiver authority will remain until the department of environmental conservation has amended its stormwater management rules or manual to include alternative guidance for operational-phase storm water permitting of renewable energy projects in high-elevation settings. Waiver authority will not apply to the federal Clean Water Act.
The bill will expand the alternative energy tax to all renewable electric generating facilities. The alternative tax, which is three-tenths of a cent per kilowatt-hour, now applies only to wind-electric plants.
The bill will expand the alternative education tax to net-metered systems, too. The tax will apply to net-metered systems with a certificate of public good that was placed into service after January 1, 2010. The tax will be assessed at three-tenths of a cent per kilowatt hour based on a capacity factor of 13.5% of average capacity factor for solar electric systems and 15% of average capacity factor for all other renewable electric systems. The alternative education tax will be applied only to buildings and facilities directly and exclusively used for generating electricity. The tax will be paid on April 15.

Representative Cheney is the sole sponsor of the bill. The bill was sent to House Natural Resources and Energy on 1/29/10.

H.664 - Act 250 jurisdiction in towns that do and do not have both permanent zoning and subdivision bylaws.

This bill will define a 10-acre town under act 250 as a town that has adopted zoning and subdivision bylaws. The bill will define a 1-acre town as a municipality that has not adopted zoning and subdivision bylaws or that has adopted zoning and subdivision bylaws and has elected by ordinance to have act 250 apply to projects on more than one-acre of land. In the event that a proposed development involves land in multiple towns, then act 250 will apply in the 10-acre town only if the land involved in both towns exceeds 10 acres; and act 250 will apply in the one-acre town only if all of the land involved in both towns exceeds 1 acre.
The bill will also cover cases where an act 250 permit was issued in a municipality without permanent zoning and subdivision bylaws and later the town adopts both types of bylaws. In such a case, act 250 will lose jurisdiction for amendments of permits involving improvements for commercial or industrial permits involving no more than 10 acres of land and the municipality will gain jurisdiction for amendments of the permit. Representative Toll is the main sponsor and there are 9 other sponsors. The bill was sent to House Natural Resources and Energy on 1/29/10.

H.666 - Homestead property tax adjustment. This bill will eliminate the income sensitivity adjustment of property taxes on a homestead and replace it with an exemption from property tax of the first $50,000 of listed value of a homestead. The bill will retain the income sensitivity adjustments for the portion of a renter's rent that goes toward property taxes.. Representative Clark is the main sponsor and there are three other sponsors. This bill was sent to House Ways and Means on 1/29/10.

H.673 - Removing the requirement of legislative approval of continued operation of a nuclear power plant. This bill will remove the requirement that the general assembly approves a certificate of public good and determines that operation will promote the general welfare for a nuclear power plant in Vermont. This bill will remove the requirement that storage of spent fuel generated after March 21, 2012 be approved by the general assembly. Representative O'Donnell is the main sponsor and there are 32 other sponsors. The bill was sent to House Natural Resources and Energy on 1/29/10.

H.677 - Wind energy plants. This bill will apply to wind energy plants greater than 490 kilowatts under act 250, under public service board certificates of public good, and under municipal zoning.

The bill will establish setbacks from occupied (people or animals) buildings. The setbacks will be 1.25 miles or 2 miles depending on whether the elevation difference between the two is less or more than 500 feet. The bill will establish a set-back of 1/3 mile from a public highway or above-ground utility line. The bill will limit the total sound caused by a wind energy plant and the low-frequency sound, too. The bill will allow a property owner to waive the setback and noise requirements. The bill will establish interconnection requirements for wind energy plants. It will require an analysis of shadow flicker for each turbine and measures to mitigate or eliminate the flicker. The bill will require access roads and power lines to be the minimum feasible length and width. The bill will limit lighting to that required by the Federal Aviation Administration. An application for a wind energy plant will need to have a depreciation schedule, a plan for replacement or removal, and a decommissioning and site restoration plan including a third-party bond for the full cost.
This bill will remove 490 kilowatt or larger wind-electricity plants that are not majority-owned by a Vermont retail electricity provider from jurisdiction by the public service board and give jurisdiction to the district environmental commissions. The bill will also allow a municipality to regulate such a power plant under zoning and subdivision bylaws as a conditional use.
The bill will allow a municipality to charge an applicant for the municipality's cost of review of a wind energy plant under act 250, certificates of public good, or zoning and subdivision.
The bill will require the health department to report every two years on whether the sound levels are appropriate to protect the public health.

Representative Potter is the main sponsor and there are 13 other sponsors. The bill is scheduled to be introduced 2/2/10.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

William Botzow of Pownal has succeeded Warren Kitzmiller as chair of House Commerce and Economic Development.

COMMITTEE HEARINGS: Hearings are subject to change: addition or deletion; if you want the latest information, call the legislative council (828-2231) or check www.leg.state.vt.us/schedule/schedule2.cfm . To testify on a bill in person call the legislative council (828-2231). Send written comments to the committee at the state house in Montpelier (05633). Recordings of most committee hearings can be ordered on compact disc from the legislative council for $1 per disc. The Sergeant-at-arms can deliver messages to legislators. (828-2228).

As of the posting of this report the following committees do not have schedules on the internet.

House: General Housing and Military Affairs

Senate: all have provided schedules

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

H.518 - Dairy farm solar power initiative with the sponsor at House Agriculture. (15 min. after 10 o-clock floor)

H.589 - Nuclear energy generation and the institution of trusts for greenfield restoration and spent fuel management with no witness listed (15 min. after 10 o'clock floor) and Washington electric Co-op (15 minutes after 1:15 caucus) at House Natural Resources and Energy.

Report on maple sugaring on state forest and state forest land with department of forests, parks and recreation and Vermont maple sugar makers association at Senate Agriculture. (11:15 - 12)

H.484 - Regulation of toxic substances with advisory committee on mercury pollution and state director for representative Peter Welch at House Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources. (11:15 - 12)

H.485 - Use value appraisal program with John Meyer (Calais forester), Robert Clark of Hartland; Vermont Forest Products Association, Current Use Coalition, Vermont Assessors and Listers Association, property valuation and review division, agency of agriculture, food and Markets, and joint fiscal office at Senate Finance. (beginning at 1:30)

Clean energy development fund with office of economic stimulus and recovery and clean energy development fund at House Corrections and Institutions. (15 minutes after 1:15 caucus)

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

H.525 - Beef promotion and research with no witness listed at House Agriculture. (9 - 9:45)

H.485 - Use value appraisal program with Vermont Land Trust, Vermont Farm Bureau, and Vermont Natural Resources Council at Senate Natural Resources and Energy. (9 - 10:15)

H.589 - Nuclear energy generation and the institution of trusts for greenfield restoration and spent fuel management with department of public service (9 - 12) and no witness listed (15 minutes after 1 o'clock floor) at House Natural Resources and Energy.

H.484 - Regulation of toxic substances with American chemistry council and Vermont retail association at House Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources. (10 - 11:20)

Tomato / potato blight with agency of agriculture, food and markets at Senate Agriculture. (10:45 - 11:15)

S.146 - Municipal authority to regulate products in the municipal waste stream with no witness listed at Senate Government Operations. (after morning floor).

Local foods with no witness listed at Senate Agriculture. (11:15 - 12)

Entergy power purchase proposal Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, Central Vermont Public Service, Vermont Electric Co-operative, and department of public service at Senate Finance. (beginning at 1:30)

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Biofuels with farmer and extension agent Heather Darby at House Agriculture. (9 - 10:15)

Slaughterhouses in Vermont with no witness listed at Senate Agriculture. (9 - 10:15)

H.589 - Nuclear energy generation and the institution of trusts for greenfield restoration and spent fuel management with Vanis Uldigs (public service department's nuclear engineer) (9 - 12) and Vermont Public Interest Research Group (15 minutes after 1 o'clock floor) at House Natural Resources and Energy.

H.484 - Regulation of toxic substances with health department, Science and Environmental Network, Dr. Ken Geiser (University of Massachusetts at Lowell), and lobbyist for CropLife America at House Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources. (beginning at 2:30))

Friday, February 5, 2010

S.224 - Establishment of a paint stewardship program with no witness listed at Senate Natural Resources and Energy. (9 - 10:15)

H.519 - Pollution control measures for Lake Champlain with Bill Bartlett at House Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources. (10:15 - 12)

H.540 - Motor vehicles passing vulnerable users on the highway and to bicycle operation. with the sponsor at House Transportation. (11 - 12)

H.586 - Municipal authority to condition issuance of a zoning permit upon issuance of a wastewater or potable water supply permit with the sponsor at House Government Operations. (11:30 - 11:45)

Vermont Yankee: updates on monitoring wells, identification of source, data and public access to that data with William Irwin (State radiological Health Chief) and Wendy Davis (commissioner of health) at Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources. (beginning at 1)

LAST WEEK:

ACTIONS ON PREVIOUSLY REPORTED BILLS:

H.262 - Tax on plastic bags was transferred from House Ways and Means to House Natural Resources and Energy on 1/29/10.

H.485 - Use value appraisal program was amended and then passed second reading on 1/26/10 by a voice vote. The bill was read the third time and passed on a role call vote of 104 - 34 on 1/27/10.

This bill as amended will place a moratorium on new enrollments for the April 1, 2010 grand list and will carry the applications forward for April 1, 2011.
The bill will set the land use change tax at 10% of the full fair market value. The bill will eliminate the present 20% rate with exceptions and will delete the present assessment on changing only a portion of a parcel. The bill will have local assessing officials set the fair market value rather than the director of property valuation and review. The bill will have half of the tax go to the municipality and half to the Vermont general fund.. (Presently all of the tax goes to the general fund.)
There are changes in the appeals section. An appeal of a decision by the director of property valuation will be made to the commissioner of taxes, then to the superior court. An appeal of the local officials' decision of the fair market value will be appealed to the director and further appeal will be handled in the same manner as an appeal of a decision of a board of civil authority.
Land enrolled in the program now is subject to a property transfer tax of 0'5%. This bill will retain that 0'5% rate only for working farms. Other land that now is taxed at 0.5% will be taxed at 1.25% unless it meets the criteria for one of the other existing exemptions from the 1.25% rate.
The bill allocate the first $300,000 of the property transfer tax in fiscal year 2011 to convert the administration of the program to electronic format.
The bill will allow listers to change the grand list for withdrawals of land from the program in the 90 days following passage of the bill without approval of the selectboard.

S.198 - Vermont economic development board was transferred from Senate Government Operations to Senate Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs on 1/26/10.

HEARINGS I ATTENDED:

Vermont Yankee - tritium leakage with Vermont health department at Senate Health and Welfare on 1/26/10. Commissioner Wendy Davis and State Radiologist William Irwin briefed the committee on the health effects of the tritium leakage. The health department is posting daily updates on the situation at healthvermont.gov. (NOTE: Tritium is an isotope of hydrogen and occurs in groundwater mostly as a part of the water molecule itself. In that form it is called tritiated water.)

Wendy Davis told the committee that the health department is engaged in the investigation. The department is concerned with public health. and so far the release is below limits that will affect public health. and there is no indication of danger to the public from this release. This release is a concern because its was unexpected and its origin is unknown. It is not known whether the release is limited to tritium or whether there are additional radioactive isotopes that are in the groundwater that have not been detected yet. The department plans and drills for acute airborne releases, not the slow release that this has been. The department is monitoring radiation more frequently and more intensively now than it normally does.
William Irwin told the committee that the limits for tritium in drinking water are quite low (20,000 picocuries per liter) because they were established as a lifetime dose for a member of the public. The risk of cancer from this release is essentially similar to other risks, about 1 cancer per million people exposed at that level. Drinking the water from the vault (2,000,000 picocuries per liter) would not result in acute illness but would lead to chronic effects. The department has been monitoring water from drinking wells in the area and from the on-site groundwater wells. The tritiated water is flowing to the the Connecticut River. The department is also monitoring for radioactive isotopes Cobalt-60 and Zinc-65 and others to see if they are in the tritiated water. The plan is to drill many more monitoring wells to determine the extent of the tritiated groundwater and whether radioactive metals are present. It is unknown how long the tritium has been leaking; it could be a few weeks or several decades. All residents of Vernon get drinking water from private wells and the department is monitoring the amount of tritium in the wells. The department has not detected tritium in any well yet, which means that the amount of tritium is less than 500 picocuries per liter . The Nuclear Regulatory Commission allows the power plant constantly to release tritium through its stack at levels much more than in the water. Until the source and extent of the tritiated groundwater is known, what will be done with it is not known. The range of activities could be to do nothing or to excavate and treat the contaminated water. This tritiated groundwater will increase the costs of operation and of decommissioning of the plant. Even before this release, the health department is committed to monitor the site for a long time.
Davis pointed out that tritium has been found in only one of the monitoring wells on site and in none of the drinking water wells.
Irwin pointed out that the health department has no authority to shut down the plant. (NOTE: The department had that authority for some massive releases of radioactivity until its revised radiological health rule took effect January 1, 2010.) Irwin expects that if the department requested a shutdown on the basis of public health that the other parties would agree.

H.132 - Residential electrical installation. The committee is working on a draft that would require all electrical work for hire to be done by licensed electricians except for homeowners in their free-standing single-family dwellings, although there is some sentiment to eliminate that exemption as well. This would prohibit solar installers from doing the electrical work on the solar components in single-family and two-family dwellings. The draft bill will also prevent a utility from re-energizing a building after an emergency disconnection unless the request comes from an electrician; various utilities testified that they can accept this portion because it is in line with their normal procedures for re-energizing anyway.

Adam Necrason, lobbyist for Renewable Energy Vermont said that renewable energy is big in Vermont and the 2 of Vermont's 10 fastest-growing companies are members of Renewable Energy Vermont. The companies are selling hundreds of systems to homeowners. The companies receive training on installation and some members now provide training. Renewable Energy Vermont brought in at least 7solar installers, two of whom testified.
Doug Wells, a solar installer and partner of Renewable Energy Vermontsaid that this bill will prevent solar installers from doing what they now do. He described Renewable Energy Vermont's partnership program. Being a solar partner is essential if a system owner wants to get the Vermont incentives and tax credits for solar installations. The partnership program involves a peer review of the training and experience of a potential partner. If the candidate passes the review then three installations are checked for code compliance including the electrical code. If the candidate's installations pass the check, then the candidate becomes a partner. When Wells decided to become a solar installer, he looked at training courses for electricians and found that they did not cover the portions of the electrical code that cover solar electricity and direct current systems. So he went to a solar installation school for a summer, then worked for several installers in Vermont and then went into business for himself. Manufacturer's of solar equipment also provide training to the installers on their equipment. He does not do wiring in the house on the house side of the main circuit box. All he does in that box is install a two-pole circuit breaker for the connection from the inverter. He does the wiring for the photovoltaic panels, the inverter and the other solar components. If he is installing a solar domestic water heating system he has an electrician wire the circulating pumps. As a solar installer, he is a specialized electrician and has to know and comply with the electrical code. He is reluctant to create a specialty license for solar electrical work because he has been waiting three years for the department of labor and industry to develop the requirements for the solar plumbing specialty license and the department has not done so.
Hilton Dier,, a solar consultant, installer and partner of Renewable Energy Vermont said that he has been teaching photovoltaics to electricians. He finds that photovoltaics are outside their training and experience, so he has to teach them all about solar. Vermont lacks electricians who know how to do photovoltaics safely. The solar installers can do it safely because of their training and experience but they are not electricians under Vermont law. If the bill is passed in its present form it will prevent solar installers form doing the work on one- and two-family dwellings and the electricians who legally could do the work do not know how to do the wiring from the solar panels to the main breaker in the main circuit breaker panel. He would like the solar installers to be allowed to work in one- and two-family dwellings. He is also open to a specialty license for solar electrical work; as long as long as solar installers are allowed to continue installing while the procedures for the solar installers specialty license are being developed.

Vermont Yankee at House Natural Resources and Energy on 1/27/10. Arnie Gundersen spoke to the committee in his role as a member of the revived public oversight panel. This is the panel that was formed to report on the reliability assessment conducted under contract to the public service department in the autumn of 2008. The panel was disbanded when the assessment was submitted and called back into service on the discovery of tritium in the groundwater on January 6, 2010. The public oversight panel is now down to three members: Gundersen, Peter Bradford, and Fred Sears. The other two members now have conflicts of interest and are not participating.

The groundwater containing tritium has been found between the turbine building and the Connecticut River. The panel had met with the public service department and Entergy two days earlier (on 1/25/10). Exploration for the source of the leak is being done by hydro-excavation because there are so many underground pipes in the area that using a conventional drill poses to much of a risk of puncturing a pipe. Tritium had been the only radioactive material found to date in the montioring wells. Tritium and radioactive isotopes of cobalt and zinc have been found in a radioactive waste vault. The vault is a structure 40' long, 8' wide, and 8' high. It is a pipe vault and contains pipes and is near several tanks, but not the condensate tank. This is not the first tritium leak at the plant. There was a leak in 1976 and then through storm drains in the 1980's and 1990's. (NOTE: These previous leaks were before Entergy bought the power station.)
Gundersen pointed out that Entergy makes a distinction between underground pipes (those in vaults or pipe chases) and buried pipes (those in direct contact with the ground.) In the previous leak, Entergy had found records of seven additional pipes carrying radioactive materials, bringing the total number of underground or buried pipes to 50. There are also pipes that have been capped and abandoned that are not on the list.
Gundersen presented a chronology of documents on underground piping and what appears to be misinformation provided to the public oversight panel. The panel was not allowed to ask questions directly to Entergy and the panel was not allowed to request documents on its own. The panel was allowed to review only documents that the contractor hired by the public service department had obtained. In October 2008 the state's nuclear engineer, then Mr. Sherman, told the public oversight panel that there are no underground pipes carrying radioactive materials. When questioned specifically about that, Sherman in December 2008 told the panel that Entergy had confirmed that there were no such pipes. Yet at the same time, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission apparently had documents about 40 such pipes at the power station. The reliability assessment had a statement that there was no such piping at the power station and Entergy's review of the reliability assessment did not correct that statement. Gundersen obtained a report from Entergy in July 2009 that indicated there is such piping. When Gundersen requested more information through the public service department the answer came back that there is none. cited other later instances of asking for confirmation that there is no such piping and being told there is none. This denial of such pipes on the part of Entergy continued until at least October 2009.
Gundersen reported that Entergy's decision-making on maintenance and repair appears to be based on whether something will last 18 months (until the next refueling outage) rather than will it need to be replaced during the life of the station..
The hearing was recessed so members could go to the governor's state house office for the press conference at which Douglas called for a time out on legislative action on continued operation of Vermont Yankee.
Tony Klein pointed out, when the hearing resumed, that it is only the legislature's continuing involvement that brought this misinformation to light. The legislature should not have had to get involved. The legislature became involved because the regulators were doing their job.
Gundersen noted that the public oversight panel found 81 issues that Vermont Yankee would have to implement in order to operate reliably until 2032. Four of those items have been completed. Completion dates for the others stretch out to 2016, the year that the condenser replacement is now scheduled.

H.549 - Reduction in sulfur and an increase in biodiesel content in heating oil at House Natural Resources and Energy. Matt Cota, Vermont Fuel Dealers Association and Bob Heddon of the Oil Heat manufacturers' Association spoke in support of the bill. Joe Choquette, representing _____ urges the committee to go slow on this issue. He acknowledges that we'll get to this point eventually of all heating oil being low sulpher and of containing a certain amount of biodiesel. Nataka White of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund said that Vermont uses about 100,000,000 gallons of heating oil each year. 3% of that would be about 3,000,000 gallons. Vermont's biodiesel manufacturers produced 76,000 gallons in 2008 and have a capacity of 4,500,000 gallons of biodiesel per year.

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Legislative report - 2/1/10