NRC Sets Two Meetings on Maine Yankee Post-Shutdown Plans

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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION I 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406
	CONTACT:	Diane Screnci (610)337-5330/ e-mail: dps@nrc.gov Neil A. Sheehan (610)337-5331/e-mail: nas@nrc.gov

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I-98-6

January 16, 1998

NRC SETS TWO MEETINGS ON MAINE YANKEE POST-SHUTDOWN PLANS

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has scheduled two meetings with officials of the Maine Yankee nuclear power plant to discuss post-shutdown plans for the Wiscasset, Maine, reactor. Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company owns the plant.

At the first meeting, at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, January 21, there will be a discussion of the proposed security plan for the defueled facility, which ceased operations in December 1996. That meeting will be held in Room F5 in the One White Flint North building at NRC headquarters, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md.

Under the proposed defueled security plan, Maine Yankee would, among other things, reduce the size of certain portions of the secured area and move access points to the facility.

The second meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Wednesday, January 28, in the Public Meeting Room at the NRC Region 1 office in King of Prussia, Pa. It will review Maine Yankee Atomic's approach to the upcoming decontamination of reactor systems, the design for a spent fuel "island" and the use of 10 CFR 50.59 for the reclassification of safety systems.

As it dismantles the rest of the plant, Maine Yankee plans to leave the spent fuel pool building in place, until the U.S. Department of Energy develops a repository where the fuel can be taken. Security measures would continue for the free-standing building, as would monitoring of the fuel it holds. Under 10 CFR 50.59, which refers to a section of the Code of Federal Regulations, plant owners may make changes to their facility without receiving prior approval from the NRC, provided certain criteria are met.

Both meetings will be open to the public for observation. NRC staff will be available afterwards to answer questions from members of the public.