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Nuclear Regulatory Commission to Discuss Staff Recommendation to Renew Oconee Nuclear Station Licenses

On May 2, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will discuss the staff's recommendation to renew the operating licenses for the three-unit Oconee Nuclear Station for an additional 20 years. The meeting, which is open to public observation, will be held at 9:30 a.m. in the Commissioners' Conference Room at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland.

Duke Energy Corporation submitted an application to the NRC in July 1998 to renew the licenses for Oconee Nuclear Station Units 1, 2 and 3 for another 20 years after the current licenses expire on February 6, 2013, for Unit 1; October 6, 2013, for Unit 2: and July 19, 2014, for Unit 3. The three Oconee nuclear power plants are located near Seneca, South Carolina.

The NRC reviewed the license renewal application in accordance with Parts 51 and 54 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The NRC's environmental review, under Part 51, is described in a site specific supplement to the NRC's "Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants, Regarding the Oconee Nuclear Station, Final Report (NUREG-1437, Supplement 2) ." In this Final Environmental Impact Statement issued last December, the staff concluded there are no impacts that would preclude renewal of the licenses for environmental reasons.

In the "Safety Evaluation Report Related to the License Renewal of Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2 and 3," (NUREG-1723) issued in March, the staff concluded that there are no safety concerns that would preclude renewal of the licenses because the licensee had demonstrated the capability to manage the effects of plant aging.

Several inspections of the plant also were conducted to verify information submitted by the licensee. On March 13, the NRC's Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards -- an independent body of technical experts that advises the Commission -- issued its recommendation to the Commission that the operating licenses for Oconee be renewed. That recommendation is contained in the ACRS "Report on the Safety Aspects of the License Renewal Application for Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2 and 3."

Copies of these documents and others relating to the license renewal application will be available at: http://www.nrc.gov/OPA/reports/renewal.htm on the NRC's web site. A copy of the staff's recommendation on the renewal of the Oconee licenses also will be available in the NRC Public Document Room at 2120 L Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20555; telephone (202) 634-3273 and will be posted at the same web site.

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