Press Release-06-141, NRC Renews Operating License for Monticello Nuclear Power Plant for an Additional 20 Years

Press Release-06-141: NRC Renews Operating License for Monticello Nuclear Power Plant for an Additional 20 Years

ML063120326
Person / Time
Site:	Monticello
Issue date:	11/08/2006
From:	Office of Public Affairs
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Press Release 06-141
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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@nrc.gov Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No.06-141 Novem ber 8, 2006NRC RENEWS OPERATING LICENSE FOR MONTICELLO NUCLEAR POWER PLANT FOR AN ADDITIONAL 20 YEARSThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the operating license of the MonticelloNuclear Generating Plant in Minnesota for an additional 20 years.The Monticello plant is located 30 miles northwest of Minneapolis. The licensee, NuclearManagement Co., submitted its li cense renewal application March 16, 2005. With the renewal, thelicense is extended until Sept. 8, 2030.

The NRC's environmental review for this licen se renewal is described in a site-specific supplement to the NRC's "Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Li cense Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants" (NUREG-1437, Supplement 26), issued in September. The review concluded there were no environmental impacts that would preclude renewal of the license for environmental reasons. Publicmeetings to discuss the environm ental review were held near the plant June 30, 2005, and March 22, 2006.After carefully reviewing the plant's safety systems and specifications, the staff concluded thatthere were no safety concerns that would preclude license renewal, because the licensee haddemonstrated effectively the capability to manage the effects of plant aging. The "Safety Evaluation Report Related to the License Re newal of the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant" (NUREG-1865)was published in October. In add ition, NRC conducted inspections of the plant to verify informationsubmitted by the licensee. The reports relating to the Monticello renewal are available on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applica tions/monticello.html .On Sept. 19, the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards - an independent body oftechnical experts which advises the Commission - issued its recommendation that the operating license for Monticello be renewed. That recommendation is contained in "Report on the Safety Aspects of theLicense Renewal Application for the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant." This document is available on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/acrs/letters/2006/ .

The Monticello renewal brings the total number of renewals to 47 reactor units. A completelisting of renewal applications can be found on the NRC Web site athttp://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html .### 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 sentto subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web site.