Press Release-09-102, NRC Renews Operating Licenses for Vogtle Nuclear Power Plants for an Additional 20 Years

Press Release-09-102: NRC Renews Operating Licenses for Vogtle Nuclear Power Plants for an Additional 20 Years

ML091530722
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Site:	Vogtle
Issue date:	06/04/2009
From:	Office of Public Affairs
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Press Release-09-102
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NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov Site: http://www.nrc.gov No.09-102 June 3, 2009 NRC RENEWS OPERATING LICENSES FOR VOGTLE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT FOR AN ADDITIONAL 20 YEARS The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the operating licenses for the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2, in Waynesboro, Ga., for an additional 20 years. The new licenses will expire on Jan. 16, 2047, and Feb. 9, 2049, respectively.

The decision to renew the licenses comes after thorough safety and environmental reviews of the application submitted June 27, 2007, by the plants operator, Southern Nuclear Operating Company. The Vogtle plants are two pressurized-water reactors located about 25 miles south of Augusta, Ga. The NRC held public meetings to discuss the Vogtle environmental review near the plant on Sept. 27, 2007, and June 3, 2008. In December 2008, NRC staff concluded there were no environmental impacts that would preclude renewal of the license for environmental reasons.

In April, after careful review of the plants safety systems and specifications, the staff concluded that there were no safety concerns that would preclude license renewal and that the applicant had effectively demonstrated the capability to manage the effects of plant aging. In addition, NRC conducted inspections of the plant to verify information submitted by the applicant. On April 10, the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards - an independent body of technical experts that advise the Commission - issued its recommendation that license renewal for Vogtle should be approved.

The safety and environmental review reports, application and letters relating to the Vogtle license renewal are available on the NRC Web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/vogtle.html.

The Vogtle units represent the 53rd and 54th reactor licenses renewed by the NRC. Twelve other applications are under review. A complete listing of renewal applications can be found on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html.

News releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address:

http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web site.