Just the kind of thing you like to peruse over brunch. From the Saturday Feb. 4 Brattleboro Reformer:
Entergy demands $4.6 million from the state
Yup, they want to be reimbursed for legal costs associated with their lawsuit over Vermont's denial of a license extension. Oh, and in case you were thinking about causing any more trouble?
"(The $4.62 million) amount is likely to increase if the fee petition is extensively litigated and/or Defendants appeal the Judgment," wrote Entergy's attorneys.
Been quite a couple of weeks for our good neighbor and provider of safe, clean, reliable power. They win the suit, they try to limit tritium testing, they demand that the Public Service Board immediately approve the 20-year extension. Can we look forward to 20 more years of corporate intransigence and bullying? Mebbe so:
...because Entergy prevailed against the state, the legal relationship between the two parties was "materially altered and was judicially sanctioned."
There's a marker for you. The Entergy/Vermont relationship has been "materially altered." Which seems to be a lawyerly way of saying, "You tried to f*ck with us, you lost, we own you." So says Pat Parenteau of the Vermont Law School:
"If there was any doubt about Entergy's scorched-earth policy toward the state of Vermont, it's been resolved," he said. "When you couple this motion with the motion to the Public Service Board, which is 'Give us our certificate of public good and give it to us now,' it's an in-your-face kind of move."
I guess we won't be seeing any more touchy-feely "I am Vermont Yankee" ad campaigns. Let's just hope the "scorched earth" stays completely in the rhetorical realm. |
