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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
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NRC Renews Licenses for Oconee Nuclear Power Plant for an Additional 20 Years

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the operating licenses for the three units of the Oconee Nuclear Station for an additional 20 years, the second license extension granted to a commercial nuclear power plant.

The Commission unanimously approved the extension of the licenses following a May 2 briefing by the NRC technical staff and a careful review of staff recommendations.

Duke Energy Corporation submitted an application to the NRC in July 1998 to renew the licenses for Oconee Units 1, 2 and 3. The Oconee Nuclear Station is located near Seneca, South Carolina. 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 NRC conducted an extensive review of 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," (NUREG-1437, Supplement 2). In this Final Environmental Impact Statement, issued in December, the staff concluded there were 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 were no safety concerns that would preclude renewal of the licenses, because the licensee had demonstrated the capability to manage the effects of plant aging.

In addition, the NRC conducted three inspections of the plant to verify information submitted by the licensee.

On March 13, the NRC's Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards -- an independent body of technical experts which advises the Commission -- issued its recommendation that the operating licenses for Oconee be renewed. That recommendation is contained in the "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 are 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, which contains the license conditions for Oconee, is available in the NRC Public Document Room at 2120 L Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20555; telephone (202) 634-3273 and has been posted at the same web site.

The NRC is currently reviewing license renewal applications for two other operating nuclear power facilities: Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 1, operated by Entergy Operations, Inc., near Russelville, Arkansas; and Hatch Units 1 and 2, operated by the Southern Nuclear Operating Company, near Baxley, Georgia.

The agency renewed the operating licenses for both units of the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant for an additional 20 years on March 23.

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