NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200

Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov

Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov/OPA

No. 00-051 March 23, 2000

NRC RENEWS LICENSES FOR CALVERT CLIFFS NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

FOR AN ADDITIONAL 20 YEARS

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the operating licenses for the two units of the

Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant for an additional 20 years, the first license extensions granted to a

commercial nuclear power plant.

The Commission unanimously approved the extension of the licenses following a March 3

briefing by the NRC technical staff.

Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. submitted an application to the NRC in April 1998 to renew the

licenses for Calvert Cliffs Units 1 and 2. The Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant is located in Lusby,

Maryland. The current licenses expire on July 31, 2014, for Unit 1 and August 31, 2016, for Unit 2.

The NRC conducted an extensive review of the license renewal application in accordance with Parts 51

and 54 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

The NRC's environmental review, under Part 51, is described in a site specific supplement to

the NRC's "Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants,"

(NUREG-1437, Supplement 1). In this Final Environmental Impact Statement issued in October, the

staff concluded there were no impacts that would preclude renewal of the licenses for environmental

reasons.

In the "Safety Evaluation Report Related to the License Renewal of Calvert Cliffs Nuclear

Power Plant, Units 1 and 2," (NUREG-1705) issued in November, the staff concluded that there were

no safety concerns that would preclude renewal of the licenses, because the licensee had demonstrated

the capability to manage the effects of plant aging.

Three inspections of the plant also were conducted to verify information submitted by the

licensee.

On December 10, the NRC's Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards -- an

independent body of technical experts which advises the Commission -- issued its recommendation

that the operating licenses for Calvert Cliffs be renewed. That recommendation is contained in the
ACRS "Report on the Safety Aspects of the License Renewal Application for Calvert Cliffs Nuclear

Power Plants Units 1 and 2."

Copies of these documents and others relating to the license renewal are

available at: http://www.nrc.gov/OPA/reports/renewal.htm on the NRC's web site. A copy of

the staff's recommendation on the renewal of the Calvert Cliffs licenses, which contains the license

conditions for Calvert Cliffs, is available in the NRC Public Document Room at 2120 L Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20555; telephone (202) 634-3273 and has been posted at the same web site.

The NRC is currently reviewing license renewal applications for six other operating nuclear

power plants: Oconee 1, 2 and 3, operated by Duke Power Co., 30 miles west of Greenville, South

Carolina; Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 1, operated by Entergy Operations., Inc., near Russelville,

Arkansas; and Hatch 1 and 2, operated by the Southern Nuclear Operating Co., near Baxley, Georgia.

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