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Journal of the Senate

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Tuesday, March 16, 2004

The Senate was called to order by the President.

Devotional Exercises

Devotional exercises were conducted by the Reverend Kevin Rooney of Northfield.

Pledge of Allegiance

The President then led the members of the Senate in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Message from the Governor

Appointments Referred

A message was received from the Governor, by Neale Lunderville, Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs, submitting the following appointments, which were referred to committees as indicated:

James Colvin of Bennington - Member of the Public Oversight Commission, - from February 25, 2004, to February 28, 2005.

To the Committee on Health and Welfare.

Sonia Alexander of Wilmington - Member of the Valuation Appeals Board, - from February 25, 2004, to January 31, 2006.

To the Committee on Finance.

Ronald Kilburn of Swanton - Member of the Vermont Transportation Authority, - from March 3, 2004, to January 31, 2008.

To the Committee on Transportation.

Randolph D. Brock of St. Albans - Member of the Vermont Educational and Health Financing Agency, - from March 3, 2004, to January 31, 2010.

To the Committee on Finance.

Susan Roush Bruce of St. Albans - Member of the Board of Libraries, - from March 3, 2004, to February 28, 2007.

To the Committee on Education.

Aline B. White of Newport - Member of the Board of Libraries, - from March 5, 2004, to February 28, 2008.

To the Committee on Education.

Mary Geoffrion of Bellows Falls - Member of the Children and Family Council for Prevention Programs, - from March 5, 2004, to February 28, 2006.

To the Committee on Health and Welfare.

Susan Kamp of South Burlington - Member of the Children and Family Council for Prevention Programs, - from March 5, 2004, to February 28, 2006.

To the Committee on Health and Welfare.

Kreig Pinkham of Northfield - Member of the Children and Family Council for Prevention Programs, - from March 5, 2004, to February 28, 2006.

To the Committee on Health and Welfare.

Jennifer Poehlmann of Winooski - Member of the Children and Family Council for Prevention Programs, - from March 5, 2004, to February 28, 2006.

To the Committee on Health and Welfare.

Kenneth A. Schatz of Burlington - Member of the Children and Family Council for Prevention Programs, - from March 5, 2004, to February 28, 2006.

To the Committee on Health and Welfare.

Consideration Resumed; Substitute Proposal of Amendment; Third Reading Ordered

S.R. 21.

Consideration was resumed on Senate resolution entitled:

Senate resolution urging state and federal regulatory authorities to proceed with great caution in considering authorization of the proposed extended power uprate at Vermont Yankee.

Thereupon, pending the question, Shall the resolution be amended as recommended by the Committee on Finance?, Senator MacDonald, on behalf of the Committee on Finance, moved to substitute a proposal of amendment for the proposal of amendment as follows:

Whereas, Vermont Yankee is a 540 megawatt nuclear generating station located in Vernon, Vermont, and

Whereas, Vermont Yankee began operation in 1972, and

Whereas, Vermont Yankee was purchased by Entergy Nuclear in 2002, and

Whereas, Entergy now proposes to perform an extended power uprate of the facility, increasing reactor power and electric output of Vermont Yankee by 20 percent, and

Whereas, Vermont Yankee is one of 103 operating nuclear power plants in the United States, and

Whereas, only 10 nuclear plants have performed an extended power uprate of 13 percent or more, ,and

Whereas, no nuclear plant as old as Vermont Yankee has ever been granted such a power increase, and

Whereas, a reactor power uprate of 20 percent is the maximum permitted limit of extended power uprates, and

Whereas, a 20 percent power uprate for a 32 year old facility is without precedent, and

Whereas, prior to increasing the plant’s power output, the approval of regulatory bodies, including the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Public Service Board (PSB), is required, and

Whereas, a comprehensive analysis of an uprate proposal requires that federal regulatory authorities have access to a comprehensive and objective inspection report detailing all aspects of Vermont Yankee’s physical condition and operational status before making any regulatory decisions which can have an impact on the safety of Vermont Yankee employees and the residents of the surrounding communities, and

Whereas, the safety of the Vermont Yankee facility, its employees, and nearby residents is a matter of great concern to Vermont Yankee, to all citizens of Vermont and the General Assembly, and

Whereas, the Public Service Board made its approval of the uprate request on March 15, 2004 contingent on an “independent engineering assessment” being completed prior to NRC approval, now therefore be it

Resolved by the Senate:

That this legislative body urges the NRC to condition approval of any uprate at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power facility upon performance of an “independent engineering assessment” being completed at Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee as called for in the Public Service Board ruling and which independently:

1) Assesses the conformance of the facility to its design and licensing bases, for operating at both 100 percent and 120 percent of its originally intended power production level;

2) Identifies all deviations, exemptions and/or waivers from (a) regulatory requirements applicable to Vermont Yankee and (b) regulatory requirements applicable to a new nuclear reactor (i.e. today’s safety regulations) and verifies that adequate safety margins are retained despite the cumulative effect of such deviations, exemptions, and/or waivers for both the present licensed power level and under the proposed extended power uprate;

3) Assesses the facility’s operational safety performance giving risk perspectives where appropriate;

4) Evaluates the effectiveness of licensee self-assessments, corrective actions, and improvement plans; and

5) Determines the root cause(s) of safety-significant findings and draws conclusions on overall performance, and be it further

Resolved: That the Secretary of the Senate be directed to send copies of this resolution to Nils J. Diaz, NRC Chair, to Governor James H. Douglas, and to David O’Brien, Public Service Commissioner.

Which was agreed to.

Thereupon, the recurring question, Shall the resolution be amended as recommended by Senator MacDonald, as substituted?, was agreed to on a roll call, Yeas 28, Nays 0.

Senator Campbell having demanded the yeas and nays, they were taken and are as follows:

Roll Call

Those Senators who voted in the affirmative were: Ayer, Bartlett, Bloomer, Campbell, Canns, Condos, Cummings, Doyle, Dunne, Gossens, Greenwood, Illuzzi, Kittell, Leddy, Lyons, MacDonald, Maynard, Mayo, Mazza, Miller, Mullin, Munt, Scott, Sears, Shepard, Snelling, Welch, White.

Those Senators who voted in the negative were: None.

Those Senators absent and not voting were: Collins, Gander.

Thereupon, third reading of the resolution was ordered on a roll call, Yeas 28, Nays 0.

Senator Bloomer having demanded the yeas and nays, they were taken and are as follows:

Roll Call

Those Senators who voted in the negative were: None.

Those Senators absent and not voting were: Collins, Gander.

Bill Passed

Senate bill entitled:

S. 164.

An act relating to liability for genetic engineering.

Was taken up.

Thereupon, the bill was passed on a roll call, Yeas 28, Nays 0.

Senator Sears having demanded the yeas and nays, they were taken and are as follows:

Roll Call

Those Senators who voted in the negative were: None.

Those Senators absent and not voting were: Collins, Gander.

Bill Amended; Bill Ordered to Lie

S. 91.

Senate bill entitled:

An act relating to limiting the application of granular fertilizers to nonagricultural turf.

Was taken up.

Thereupon, pending third reading of the bill, Senator Condos moved to amend the bill in Sec. 2 by striking out the date “July 1, 2004” and inserting in lieu thereof the date January 1, 2005

Thereupon, pending the question, Shall the bill be amended as recommended by Senator Condos?, Senator Condos requested and was granted leave to withdraw his proposal of amendment.

Thereupon, pending third reading of the bill, Senator MacDonald, on behalf of the Committee on Natural Resources and Energy, moved to amend the bill as follows:

First: In Sec. 1, 10 V.S.A. § 1266b(a), by striking out subdivision (1) in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

(1) “Impervious surface” means a surface that prevents infiltration of water into the soil, which may include a highway, street, sidewalk, paved parking lot, driveway, or other surface.

Second: In Sec. 1, 10 V.S.A. § 1266b(b)(1), before the period at the end of subdivision (B) by adding the following:

; or

(C) the turf involved is a golf course and the phosphorus is applied under the direction of a person licensed, certified or approved by an organization with an ongoing training program approved by the secretary of agriculture, food and markets

Which was agreed to.

Thereupon, the bill was read the third time, and pending the question, Shall the bill pass?, Senator Mazza moved that the bill be committed to the Committee on Judiciary.

Thereupon, pending the question, Shall the bill be committed to the Committee on Judiciary?, Senator Mazza requested and was granted leave to withdraw his motion.

Thereupon, pending the question, Shall the bill pass?, on motion of Senator Mazza the bill was ordered to lie.

Third Reading Ordered

H. 183.

Senator White, for the Committee on Government Operations, to which was referred House bill entitled:

An act relating to Memorial Day.

Reported that the bill ought to pass in concurrence.

Thereupon, the bill was read the second time by title only pursuant to Rule 43, and third reading of the bill was ordered on a roll call, Yeas 27, Nays 2.

Senator Sears having demanded the yeas and nays, they were taken and are as follows:

Roll Call

Those Senators who voted in the affirmative were: Ayer, Bartlett, Bloomer, Campbell, Canns, Collins, Condos, Cummings, Doyle, Dunne, Gossens, Greenwood, Kittell, Leddy, Lyons, MacDonald, Maynard, Mayo, Mazza, Miller, Mullin, Munt, Scott, Shepard, Snelling, Welch, White.

Those Senators who voted in the negative were: Illuzzi, Sears.

The Senator absent and not voting was: Gander.

Committee of Conference Appointed

H. 471.

An act relating to motor vehicles.

Was taken up. Pursuant to the request of the House, the President announced the appointment of

Senator Ayer

Senator Maynard

Senator Collins

as members of the Committee of Conference on the part of the Senate to consider the disagreeing votes of the two Houses.

Message from the House No. 33

A message was received from the House of Representatives by Mr. MaGill, its First Assistant Clerk, as follows:

Mr. President:

I am directed to inform the Senate the House has adopted a Joint Resolution of the following title:

J.R.H. 43. Joint resolution designating April 7, 2004, as World Health Day.

Adjournment

On motion of Senator Welch, the Senate adjourned until one o’clock and thirty minutes in the afternoon on Wednesday, March 17, 2004.