"...vigilant in prosecuting crimes against Vermont's environment."

"Had these actions not been reported to the state so quickly, there was the potential for significant environmental contamination at the site and surrounding community,” said Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell. "We will continue to be vigilant in prosecuting crimes against Vermont's environment."

No it’s not the leaking tritium at Entergy’s aging Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant but 23 buried waste oil drums the Attorney General is talking about.

A Danby Vermont man got a one to two year suspended sentence, probation and a $10,000 fine .The maximum sentence was a possible fives years in jail and $250,000 in fines .

After this success there is no word on what Vermont’s vigilant regulators may have in store for Entergy and their tritium leak.
Currently the leak has spiked to well above the federal standard for drinking water (20,000 picocuries per liter) to 2.7 million picocuries per liter. Tritium levels in reactor water usually measure 2.9million picocuries

Recently the Vermont AG submitted a request to Entergy for information about whether plant officials lied to state officials about the existence of underground piping that is the source of the leak. Entergy has proven reluctant in the past to release documents without a court fight.

Vermont’s $40,000 Taser payout

Ever so quietly in a Thanksgiving Day news story Vermont State gives notice of an out of court settlement and payout in a taser related incident from 2006.The $40,000 settlement is called “frankly ,a business decision” to avoid risk of trial .
The Vermont Attorney General’s Office has paid $40,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a man who claims he was Tasered in 2006 by state police as he was having a seizure that was mistaken as an attempt to resist arrest.
State police deny wrongdoing, state assistant attorney general J.J. Tyzbir told the Valley News. He said he agreed to the settlement to avoid the risk of trial, where a jury could have awarded more money.

“We still believe Mr. Fairbrother was not actually in the throes of a seizure,” Tyzbir said. “We believe Mr. Fairbrother was actually trying to evade the officers and was resisting them and was noncompliant. But whenever you go to trial, you risk not getting a favorable outcome. This was, frankly, a business decision.”

A wise business decision might include continued review of the Taser policy as local police continue to equip themselves with the Tasers.
This October the Taser Company issued a training bulletin warning that 50,000 volt tasering could cause an “adverse cardiac event” when shot in the chest. Avoiding the chest, face and neck is now strongly advised .Suggested shot placements currently include back abdomen and thighs.
A Vermont State Attorney General Taser policy report of 2008 in its conclusion suggests room for further review of their safety.

There remain questions about the safety of the taser’s use in certain
situations and on certain categories of subjects. These
questions are particularly important in situations when
multiple tases or extended continuous tasings of a subject
are inflicted and when subjects are manifesting a condition
called “excited delirium”. Continued study of the safety and
health effects of tasers is warranted.

also posted on Green Mountain Daily