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-03-013 March 31, 2003

CONTACT: Victor Dricks E-mail: opa4@nrc.gov

Phone: 817-860-8128

 

NRC TO MEET WITH NEBRASKA PUBLIC POWER DISTRICT TO DISCUSS

 PERFORMANCE OF COOPER NUCLEAR STATION

 

 Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Nebraska Public

Power District on Tuesday, April 8, to discuss the results of the agency’s annual assessment of safety

performance at the Cooper Nuclear Station. The facility is located near Brownville, Neb., and operated

by Nebraska Public Power District. 

 The meeting, which will be open to the public for observation, is scheduled to begin at 7:00

p.m. at the Brownville Concert Hall, Atlantic Avenue & Second Street, Brownville, Neb.

Before the session is adjourned, NRC staff will be available to answer questions from the

public on the safety performance of the plant, as well as the role of the NRC in ensuring safe plant

operation.

 The performance period to be discussed is January 1 to December 31, 2002. In addition, NRC

staff will provide an overview of how the agency’s Reactor Oversight Process works.

 A letter sent from the NRC Region IV Office to representatives of Nebaska Public Power

District 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:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/cns_2002q4.pdf

“Overall, the Cooper Nuclear Station operated in a manner that preserved public health and

safety,” the letter says. “While Cooper Nuclear Station met all cornerstone objectives, plant

performance was within the Multiple/Repetitive Degraded Cornerstone column of the Action Matrix

based on multiple White findings in the Emergency Preparedness Cornerstone for more than four

quarters.” 

On August 22, 2002, the NRC completed a supplemental inspection and found that a number of

longstanding performance problems existed at the plant. Of greatest concern was the failure to correct

recurring performance issues, including problems with the reliability of safety systems, personnel
errors, implementation of the emergency plan, and the quality of engineering, training, and

maintenance activities. 

On January 30, 2003, NRC issued a Confirmatory Action Letter to Nebraska Public Power

District to confirm commitments made by the company to address long-standing regulatory

performance deficiencies. “NRC will conduct periodic inspections to verify completion of these

actions and the effectiveness of these actions in addressing the specific performance issues,” the letter

states.

In addition, the letter notes: “As you are aware, since the terrorist attacks of September 11,

2001, the NRC has issued several Orders and threat advisories to enhance security capabilities and

improve guard force readiness. We have conducted inspections to review your implementation of

these requirements and have monitored your actions in response to changing threat conditions. For

calendar year 2003, we plan to continue these inspections and conduct portions of the security baseline

inspection program, as well as perform additional inspections to evaluate your compliance with new

requirements that may be ordered.”

Current performance information for Cooper Nuclear Station is available at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CNS/cns_chart.html

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