Senator Bernie Sanders says the U.S. Justice Department won’t intervene in the federal lawsuit being brought against the state of Vermont by the owners of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.
But the Justice Department says it hasn’t made a decision yet. A spokeswoman says the department will continue to "monitor the situation."
The independent senator grilled Nuclear Regulatory Commission members during a Senate committee hearing two weeks ago, saying he had learned they had voted secretly to ask the Justice Department to side with Entergy in its suit against Vermont. Now Sanders says he’s been told the Justice Department will stay out of the matter.
Entergy says that Vermont is improperly trying to close its lone nuclear plant over safety issues.