The Public Service Board says that any documents turned over to the state on the proposed sale of Vermont Yankee will become public records.
NorthStar Services wants to buy Vermont Yankee from Entergy, and the industrial demolition company says it can decommission the Vernon reactor decades ahead of the date Entergy expected to finish cleaning up the property.
As part of the state regulatory process NorthStar has already filed more than 1,500 documents, but the company says two documents that provide details on the funding of the cleanup should remain confidential.
A few weeks ago the Public Service Board said it wanted to take a look at the documents first, before deciding if they should remain sealed, and NorthStar was looking for some assurance that the financial records would not be released to the public, even if the state gets the information.
On Friday, the PSB said that if it gets the financial documents they would in fact become public records.
A spokesman for NorthStar said the company was not yet ready to comment on the board's most recent ruling.
In Friday's ruling the board also said that the records would be protected under the board's confidentiality rules.
But even under those rules, NorthStar wanted its information protected, and the company was requesting that the documents would be returned.
The board ruled that the information would have to remain under file under the state's public records law.
NorthStar needs state and federal approval to move ahead with its plans to purchase and decommission VY.
