NRC, ENTERGY TO MEET ON JULY 9th TO DISCUSS
STATUS OF EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEM AT INDIAN POINT
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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will meet with representatives of Entergy Nuclear Northeast on Monday, July 9 to discuss technical issues surrounding the installation, testing program and completion date for the new emergency notification system for the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, N.Y.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Colonial Terrace, at 119 Oregon Road in Cortlandt Manor, N.Y. (Directions are available at: http://www.colonialterracecaterers.com/directions.htm .) Attendees are advised that parking may be limited.

Following the meeting with Entergy, NRC will be available to answer questions from the public regarding the system. Prior to the meeting, beginning at 5:30 p.m., the NRC staff will hold an information session to allow members of the public to informally discuss issues surrounding the alert and notification system.

Like other U.S. commercial nuclear power plants, Indian Point, which is owned and operated by Entergy Nuclear Northeast, is required to have an alert and notification system within the 10-mile-radius emergency planning zone around the facility. The system is designed to alert citizens in the unlikely event there is an incident at the plant so that they can listen to the emergency broadcast stations in their area for information and instructions.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 included a provision directing the NRC to require nuclear power plants located within certain population densities to have back-up power for their emergency notification systems, including sirens. Indian Point is the only nuclear plant that fell within the requirement. In January 2006, the NRC issued an order requiring the backup power by January 2007. Entergy is replacing its current emergency notification system with a new one that features, among other things, back-up power. The deadline was later extended to April 15, 2007.

In April, the NRC denied Entergy’s request to extend the deadline a second time and issued a Notice of Violation and a $130,000 fine for failing to meet the deadline to achieve operability of a new alert and notification system. Entergy also was required to provide its action plan for resolution of the problems involving the new system.

While work continues to put the new system in place, Indian Point’s existing alert and notification system remains in operation. The company is required to continue testing and maintaining the existing system.

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Monday, July 23, 2007