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 NRC’s 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 plant’s safety performance, as well as the agency’s role in ensuring safe plant

operation.

“Each year, the NRC assesses the performance of all of the nation’s 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 SLOSpan, the San Luis Obispo County government cable access channel.

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