NRC TO DISCUSS 2004 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT
FOR MONTICELLO NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Nuclear Management Co. Thursday, May 19, to discuss the agency’s assessment of safety performance last year at the Monticello Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is located in Monticello, Minn.

The meeting, which will be open to public observation, is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at the Monticello Community Center, 505 Walnut Street, Suite 4, Monticello.

Before the meeting is adjourned, NRC staff will be available to answer questions from the public on the safety performance of the Monticello plant, as well as the role of the NRC in ensuring safe plant operation.

"The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Monticello plant and the nation’s other commercial nuclear power facilities," NRC Region III Administrator James Caldwell said. "This meeting will provide an opportunity for a discussion of our annual assessment of safety performance with the company and with local officials and residents who live near the plant. Our goal is to explain the NRC oversight process and make as much information as possible available to the public regarding our regulation of these facilities."

The NRC’s assessment concluded that the Monticello plant operated safely during the period. The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess nuclear plant performance. The colors start with "green" and then increase to "white," "yellow" or "red," commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved.

All of the inspection findings and performance indicators for Monticello during 2004 were determined to be "green." As a result of this performance, the NRC will conduct the normal, baseline level of inspections during the upcoming year.

Routine inspections are performed by two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the Region III Office in Lisle, Ill., and the agency’s headquarters in Rockville, Md. Among the areas of plant operations to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are license renewal, safety system design capability and modifications, and problem identification and resolution.

A letter sent from the NRC Region III Office to plant officials addresses the performance of the plant during the period and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/mont_2004q4.pdf .

Current performance information for Monticello is available on the NRC’s web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/MONT/mont_chart.html.

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Wednesday, October 20, 2010