MONTPELIER, Vt. -
The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant in Vernon, Vermont has won another round to keep operating.
On Tuesday, a federal appeals court ruled Yankee's license to operate was issued correctly despite objections and a lawsuit by the State of Vermont.
The State had argued Yankee should not have been given a new license because its water quality permit was of date. But the federal court said the state waited too long to make that argument.
Also on Tuesday, Yankee was running at about half-power because a cooling pump failed. Plant staff said it was being repaired.
Another issue is the effort by Yankee opponents to close the plant through different lawsuits.
In the fight over the future of Yankee, Deborah Katz wants to make sure her side doesn't give up.
"It's really important that citizens don't go to sleep at this point," says Katz.
Katz is the executive director of the anti-Yankee group, Citizens Awareness Network. On Tuesday, she talked to people about what should happen when Yankee shut downs.
"How they clean the site up. What they do with the high-level waste," says Katz.
While inside the Montpelier church, opponents of Yankee planned for life after the plant, it's not clear when it will shut down.
That's because Yankee's future is headed to another federal appeals court.
Plant supporters say the law is on their side, despite the effort of the State of Vermont to close the plant, and at least one federal judge has agreed.
There is also the issue of the 600 jobs at the plant.
Now the work is up to two legal teams to argue if Yankee should keep running.
Right now the plant's owner Entergy is working on its side and later this year could meet the attorney's for Vermont who have already laid out their side.
"We're going forward and we're looking forward to having the argument before the court," says Scot Kline, Vermont Assistant Attorney General.
