Voters use privilege from colonial days to weigh-in on closure of leaky Vermont nuclear plant

In Vermont, unease over aging, leaky nuke plant

WAITSFIELD, Vt. — Voters in Waitsfield and 15 other Vermont towns are using their annual town meetings on Tuesday to weigh-in on the continued operation of a nuclear power plant leaking a radioactive substance.

The state Senate already has voted to close the Vermont Yankee plant in 2012. But regular folks are having their say in a series of nonbinding referendums that they hope will influence lawmakers. Voters here have had this direct democracy privilege since colonial days.

In Waitsfield, the measure being voted on Tuesday calls on the Legislature to block the re-licensing of the nuclear plant and require owner Entergy Corp. to shore up the decommissioning fund that will pay for its eventual shutdown.

Some voters say the time has come to pull the plug on Vermont Yankee.