ML021570277
| ML021570277 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Surry  |
| Issue date: | 05/29/2002 |
| From: | Sowers T Dominion Nuclear Connecticut |
| To: | NRC/NRR/DRIP/RLEP |
| Kugler A, NRR.DRIP/RLEP, 415-2828 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML021720280 | List: |
| References | |
| Download: ML021570277 (6) | |
Text
Toby Sowers Director, Operations and Maintenance-Surry Power Station NRC Public Meeting Surry Power Station License renewal May 29,2002
Good evening. My name is Toby Sowers - the Director of Operations and Maintenance at Surry Power Station. I would like to thank the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for holding this important meeting to receive public comment on the NRC's Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement related to Dominion's license renewal application for Surry Power Station. I'm honored to represent the Station, as I believe that we at Dominion, Surry County and other local communities all have a stake in the future of Surry Power Station.
As an employee of Dominion, I am excited about license renewal. A renewed license is not only important for Surry County and Virginia, but also for more than 850 other fulltime Surry employees whose livelihood depends on providing safe and reliable electricity to customers in this state - not to mention future employees that will be required to continue safe operation of the station well into this century. Surry Power Station generates about 15 percent of the power used in Virginia and has done so for the past 30 years. A renewed license will provide assurance that the local economy will continue to reap the benefit of having a large employer in the area and that Surry County will continue to receive tax revenue from the Station's operations.
I'd like to take a moment to tell you a little about myself, and my association with Surry Power Station. My background is fairly typical of many of the members of our site leadership team. I began my career in 1967 with a 6-year enlistment in the US Navy as a nuclear submarine operator. I later worked for Stone & Webster Engineering as an associate engineer, providing design and operational engineering support to several operating nuclear plants, including Surry. I completed my degree in Engineering and obtained my Professional Engineer license in the state of Virginia, while working for Stone and Webster. I moved to Surry in 1978 as a construction engineer for Stone and Webster and joined Dominion in 1983 as the site design engineering supervisor. I obtained my commercial senior reactor operator certification during my tenure as site engineering manager. In 1999 1 became Director of Station Safety and Licensing, and 2000, was promoted to Plant Manager.
Surry has a long history of safe and efficient operation. We're consistently ranked among the most efficient producers of nuclear-generated electricity in the United States. The station also has achieved high levels of performance in nuclear safety and plant security as measured by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The Nuclear Regulator Commission - in its Systematic Assessment of Licensee Performance during the period spanning 1992-1998 gave the Station high marks for safety, with an average score of 1.2, which is defined as having superior safety performance in all station functional areas. Under the NRC's revised oversight process, Surry continues to fully meet all NRC safety cornerstone objectives. The Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, also, has consistently given Surry high marks for nuclear safety and operational performance in addition to fully accrediting all of our training programs.
Our commitment to environmental stewardship dates back to the construction days of 1960s andl970s. We believe our proximity to the Hog Island wildlife preserve fits hand-in-glove with efforts to maintain operations that have a minimal impact on the local environment. We feel blessed to have bald eagles and ospreys nesting and soaring over our property. We treasure the beauty of the pelicans, egrets and herons that perch on the banks of our intake and discharge canals. As you approach the plant entrance you'll see our Station Goals posted on roadside signs. One of those goals is to have no environmental violations (a repeat of the successful 2001 goal).
We don't put oil or other contaminants into the ground or waterways. If we have a piece of equipment leak oil we have a spill prevention and cleanup procedure we invoke and we document the leak in our Corrective Action System where we track what, how, and why it happened and what we will do to prevent reoccurrence.
One of the things that we took a look at when we considered whether to apply to renew Surry's license was the cost of replacing the plant. Surry generates more than 1,600 megawatts of electricity, or enough power to light up about 400,000 homes. The station was relatively inexpensive to build, costing about
$400 million. When you consider the cost of building new baseload electric generating units in today's economy, that's a bargain. In the future, more electricity, not less, will be required to meet growing customer demand. Because of Surry's low production costs, overall safety performance and minimal impact on the environment, we believe that re-licensing the station is the best option for meeting the future electricity needs of Virginians.
Finally, I would like to thank those of you from the State and Local governments on behalf of Dominion for allowing us to do business in Surry County. We strive to be a good corporate citizen and have enjoyed the
professional, supportive working relationship we have with the State and Local officials. Dominion has a long-standing tradition of investing in the communities we serve through volunteer and philanthropic activities. Our employees demonstrate their commitment to their community by participating in Adopt-a Highway programs, Holiday baskets for the needy, contributing to the United Way, Blood Drives, supporting area scouting programs and many other community activities. We consider community partnership as an important component of the Dominion equation and environmental stewardship as a core component of that partnership.
I appreciate the opportunity to talk about our license renewal plan and would now like to introduce Dr. Jud White, our Manager of Environmental Policy and Compliance, to talk about the environmental specifics of our operations.
Thank you.