Press Release-IV-07-022, - NRC to Hold Two Public Meetings About the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant on June 26

Press Release-IV-07-022 - NRC to Hold Two Public Meetings About the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant on June 26

ML071710027
Person / Time
Site:	Diablo Canyon
Issue date:	06/20/2007
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region IV
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-IV-07-022
Download: ML071710027 (2)

Text

NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Region IV 611 Ryan Plaza Drive - Suite 400 Arlington, TX 76011-4005 No. IV-07-022 June 20, 2007

Contact:

Victor Dricks E-Mail: opa4@nrc.gov Phone: 817-860-8128 NRC to Hold Two Public Meetings about the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant on June 26 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold two public meetings on June 26 to discuss issues regarding the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, located near San Luis Obispo, Calif.

The NRC staff will meet with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. officials at 2:30 p.m. to discuss the NRCs annual assessment of safety performance at the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant during 2006, then hold a Town Hall style meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m. Both meetings will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 333 Madonna Road, in San Luis Obispo.

Both meetings are open to the public but have different purposes. The public is invited to observe the afternoon meeting and will have one or more opportunities to communicate with the NRC after the business portion, but before the meeting is adjourned. The Town Hall meeting is specifically tailored to maximize public participation. NRC staff will be available to answer questions on the plants safety performance, as well as the agencys role in ensuring safe plant operation.

Each year, the NRC assesses the performance of all of the nations commercial nuclear power plants, said Region IV Administrator Bruce S. Mallett. The afternoon meeting gives us an opportunity to discuss our findings with the company, local officials and members of the public. Later that same evening, we will hold a Town Hall style public meeting to foster dialog between members of the public and the NRC. We look forward to meeting with members of the community and answering questions they may have regarding issues related to Diablo Canyon.

These meetings and the insights from the public have worked well in the past and have been of great benefit to the NRC.

A letter sent from the NRC Region IV Office to plant officials addresses the performance of the plant during 2006 and will serve as the basis for the afternoon discussion. It is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/diab_2006q4.pdf.

Overall, Diablo Canyon operated safely during 2006. The NRC staff noted that there have been more than three inspection findings during the assessment period for issues related to human performance, specifically, in the area of design documentation and procedures. However, the NRC staff is satisfied that corrective actions should prevent recurrence.

The NRC is conducting the baseline (or routine) level of inspections during 2007.

Routine inspections are performed by NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the Region IV Office in Arlington, Texas.

Current performance information for Diablo Canyon Unit 1 is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/DIAB1/diab1_chart.html. Information for Unit 2 is available at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/DIAB2/diab2_chart.html.

The NRC plans to make video broadcasts of the Town Hall meeting available on SLO-Span, the San Luis Obispo County government cable access channel.

NRC news releases are available through a free list serve 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.