NRC: News Release - 2007-148 - NRC Meeting Dec. 4 in Evansville, Tenn., to Discuss Oversight of Watts Bar Unit 2 Construction

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NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Office of Public Affairs	Telephone: 301/415-8200
Washington, DC 20555-0001	E-mail: opa@nrc.gov
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No. 07-148

November 8, 1007

NRC MEETING DEC. 4 IN EVENSVILLE, TENN., TO DISCUSS
OVERSIGHT OF WATTS BAR UNIT 2 CONSTRUCTION

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with the public in Evensville, Tenn., on Tuesday, Dec. 4, to discuss how the agency will oversee construction activities and licensing of the incomplete Unit 2 at the Watts Bar nuclear power plant, about 10 miles south of Spring City, Tenn. The Tennessee Valley Authority, which operates the plant, has told the NRC it intends to restart construction activities in December.

“TVA has an active construction permit for Unit 2, and our job will be to ensure TVA’s construction and quality control efforts meet our requirements for building a safe reactor,” said Catherine Haney, Director of the Division of Operating Reactor Licensing in the NRC’s Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. “We want the communities near Watts Bar to understand the process, including any hearings that might take place regarding Unit 2.”

The meeting will be held in the Little Theater of the Rhea County High School, 405 Pierce Road in Evensville, from 7 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. NRC staff presentations will describe the overall process for reviewing TVA’s work, which includes safety and environmental assessments, as well as how the public can participate in the process. The NRC will host an open house at 6 p.m., so members of the public have the opportunity to talk informally with agency staff.

The NRC will decide whether to issue an operating license for Unit 2 in accordance with the agency’s regulations. Unit 2, if completed, would be an 1,100-MWe, Westinghouse-designed pressurized water reactor essentially the same as the operating Unit 1.

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