Press Release-II-13-023, NRC Schedules Meeting in Rock Hill to Discuss Annual Assessment of Catawba Nuclear Power Plant

Press Release-II-13-023: NRC Schedules Meeting in Rock Hill to Discuss Annual Assessment of Catawba Nuclear Power Plant

ML13112A403
Person / Time
Site:	Catawba
Issue date:	04/22/2013
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-II-13-023
Download: ML13112A403 (2)

Text

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region II 245 Peachtree Center Ave. NE, Suite 1200 Atlanta, GA 30303-1257 Web Site: www.nrc.gov No. II-13-023 April 22, 2013 CONTACT: Roger Hannah (404) 997-4417 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov Joey Ledford (404) 997-4416 NRC SCHEDULES MEETING IN ROCK HILL TO DISCUSS ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF CATAWBA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has scheduled a meeting for April 29 to discuss the agencys assessment of safety performance during 2012 for the Catawba nuclear power plant. The plant, operated by Duke Energy, is near York, S.C., about 18 miles south of Charlotte.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Rock Hill City Hall, 155 Johnston St. in Rock Hill. After a presentation, the NRC staff will be available to answer questions about the safety performance of the Catawba plant as well as overall NRC oversight and inspection.

Overall, the NRC staff concluded that both units at the Catawba plant operated safely in 2012. Catawba Unit 2 was subject to normal NRC oversight during 2012, but Unit 1 had increased oversight and inspection during the final quarter of 2012 due to an event earlier in the year involving an inoperable offsite power supply. The NRC recently completed an inspection that found the plant staff had appropriately addressed that issue, and Unit 1 has now returned to normal oversight and inspection.

The NRC staff also plans to conduct inspections related to underground piping and spent fuel storage as well as operator licensing examinations at the Catawba plant this year.

Inspections are carried out by the NRC resident inspectors assigned to the plant and by specialized inspectors from the Region II office in Atlanta.

The NRC inspects nuclear plants and monitors their performance on an ongoing basis, said NRC Region II Administrator Victor McCree. We issue inspection reports throughout the year and we hold these annual meetings near each plant to discuss our oversight and answer any questions local residents may have.

Inspection findings and performance indicators for Catawba and other nuclear plants are updated on the NRCs website each quarter.

The annual assessment letter for Catawba Units 1 and 2 is available on the NRC website.

Current performance information for Catawba Unit 1 and Unit 2 is also available on the NRC website and that information is updated quarterly.

News releases are available through a free Listserv subscription or by clicking on the EMAIL UPDATES link on the NRC homepage (www.nrc.gov). E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's website. For the latest news, follow the NRC on www.twitter.com/NRCgov.