ML20155C672

Responds to Ltr to Senator Connors, Re Possible Closure of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station & Possible Impact That Closure May Have on Economy & Environ of Community

ML20155C672
Person / Time
Site:	Oyster Creek
Issue date:	10/29/1998
From:	Thomas C NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned)
To:	Frankie Vega AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
Shared Package
ML20155C628	List: ML20155C624 ML20155C648 ML20155C666 ML20155C672 ML20155C684 ML20155C688 ML20155C698 ML20155C702 ML20155C705 ML20155C709 ML20155C720 ML20155C725 ML20155C730 ML20155C737 ML20155C748
References
NUDOCS 9811020313
Download: ML20155C672 (1)

Text

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October 29, 1998 Mr. and Mrs. Frcnk Vtga 404 Central Avenue Lakewood, NJ 08701

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Vega:

I have been asked to respond to your letter to Senator Connors, dated August 30,1998, regarding the possible closure of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station (OCNGS) and the possible impact that closure may have on the enonomy and the environment of the community.

Primarily because of the established economic regulatory process, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has exercised limited financial oversight of electric utility licensees. The l electric industry's move away from traditional rate-based regulation toward increased competition l in a deregulated marketplace could have an adverse impact on the long-term ability of utilities to )

adequately finance safe operation and decommissioning of their nuclear power plants.

Although the NRC is not usually involved in economic or rate regulation, over the years the  ;

agency has recognized a possible relationship between adequate financing and safe operations.  !

Licensees' efforts to reduce spending could result in smaller, less-experienced workforces; '

reductions in maintenance and capital budgets; shorter refueling outages, during which certain maintenance is performed; and a decline in training resources. The NRC must ensure that economic pressures do not result in reduced safety margins at operating nuclear plants and do .

not impair a licensee's ability to fully finance decommissioning at a plant after it is shut down.

l It also should be noted that the staff has historically not found a strong correlation between levels )

of operation and maintenance (O&M) and capital additions expenditure and measures of safety j performance, Many plants have increased capacity factors and reduced O&M costs and continue to demonstrate excellent safety performance. The NRC will continue to monitor l

OCNGS through the inspection process and other plant performance indicators used to assess I safe plant operation.

With respect to some other issues you raised, and as indicated by your 9th District representatives in a letter to you dated September 22,1998, there is considerable activity at the i State level to develop long-term strategies to address the socioeconomic and environmental l

lssues surrounding the OCNGS facility.

l l hope this letter is responsive to your concems regarding the safe operation of OCNGS until a final decision is made regarding the future operation of the facility.

Sincerely, MNnst signed by:

Cecil O. Thomas, Director l Project Directorate 1-3 1 Division of Reactor Projects -l/11 k

H D 0 19 PDR Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation DOCUMENT NAME: G:\EATON\g980614.fvv To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box: "C" - Copy without attachment /encJostire "E" - Copy with attachment /enclosute "N" - Nojcopy l OFFICE PDI-3fP C v l ! PDI 3/LA 5 ,- a l l' I PDI J/O _ g l DRPE/D( Q / l l NAME REatod ) TClark A L CJfiog/ / JZwolinpfr7 l DATE f! / 3 1 /98 A,/-A /98 M // M /98 o / l f /98 0FFICIAL RECORD COPY (g flOUb' 1