Press Release-II-07-004, NRC to Discuss 2006 Performance at St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant

Press Release-II-07-004: NRC to Discuss 2006 Performance at St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant

ML070720380
Person / Time
Site:	Saint Lucie
Issue date:	03/13/2007
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-II-07-004
Download: ML070720380 (2)

Text

NRC NEWS UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION II 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta GA 30303 Web Site: www.nrc.gov No. II-07-004 March 13, 2007 CONTACT: Ken Clark (404)562-4416 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov Roger Hannah (404)562-4417 NRC TO DISCUSS 2006 PERFORMANCE AT ST. LUCIE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is scheduled to meet with Florida Power & Light officials March 27 to discuss the NRCs annual assessment of safety performance for 2006 at the St.

Lucie nuclear power plant, located at Jensen Beach, Fla, near Ft. Pierce.

The 3:00 p.m. meeting at the St. Lucie Energy Encounter Building, located at 6501 S. A1A at Jensen Beach, is open to public observation. Before the meeting ends, NRC staff will be available to answer public questions on the plants safety performance, as well as the agencys role in ensuring safe operation of the facility.

Each year the NRC staff rates the performance of the St. Lucie plant and all of the nations other commercial nuclear power plants, NRC Region II Administrator William Travers said. This meeting gives us a chance to discuss our assessment with the company, local officials and residents near the plant.

The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess performance. The colors start with green and increase to white, yellow or red, commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved.

The NRC said the St. Lucie plant operated safely during the 2006 assessment period, from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, with all inspection findings being of very low safety significance and all performance indicators indicating performance at levels requiring no additional NRC oversight. As a result, the NRC plans to conduct only routine baseline inspections at the plant during 2007. The NRC staff will also perform inspections of the independent spent fuel storage installation, potential for containment building emergency recirculation sump blockage, followup on steam generator replacement and reactor head replacement.

A letter sent from the NRC Region II Office to plant officials addresses the performance of the plant during the period and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available on the NRC web site at www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/stl_2006q4.pdf .

Current information for the St. Lucie plant is available on the NRC web site at:

www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/STL1/stl1_chart.html and www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/STL2/stl2_chart.html .