NRC APPROVES LICENSE RENEWAL FOR WOLF CREEK
NUCLEAR POWER PLANT FOR AN ADDITIONAL 20 YEARS
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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the operating license renewal of the Wolf Creek Generating Station in Kansas for an additional 20 years.

The Wolf Creek nuclear power plant is located about 4 miles northeast of Burlington, Kans. The operator, Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corp., submitted its license renewal application Sept. 27, 2006. With the renewal, the license is extended until March 11, 2045.

The NRC’s environmental review for this license renewal is described in a site-specific supplement to the NRC’s “Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants” (NUREG-1437, Supplement 32), issued in May. The review concluded there were no environmental impacts that would preclude renewal of the license for environmental reasons. Public meetings to discuss the environmental review were held near the plant Dec. 19, 2006, and Nov. 8, 2007.

After carefully reviewing the plant’s safety systems and specifications, the staff concluded that there were no safety concerns that would preclude license renewal, because the applicant had effectively demonstrated the capability to manage the effects of plant aging. The “Safety Evaluation Report Related to the License Renewal of Wolf Creek Generating Station” (NUREG-1915) was published in October. In addition, NRC conducted inspections of the plant to verify information submitted by the applicant. The reports relating to the Wolf Creek license renewal are available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/wolf-creek.html.

On Sept. 17, the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards – an independent body of technical experts which advises the Commission – issued its recommendation that license renewal for Wolf Creek should be approved. That recommendation is contained in “Report on the Safety Aspects of the License Renewal Application for the Wolf Creek Nuclear Generating Station.” This document is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/acrs/letters/2008/.

The Wolf Creek renewed license brings the total number of renewals to 49 reactor units. A complete listing of renewal applications can be found on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html.

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Wednesday, November 26, 2008