NRC NEWS

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 2443 Warrenville Road

 Lisle IL 60532

 Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov

No. III-07-008 March 29, 2007

CONTACT: Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 

NRC to Discuss 2006 Performance Assessment

for Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Nuclear

Management Co. on Tuesday, Apr. 3, to discuss the agency’s assessment of safety performance for last

year at the Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is located at Welch, Minn.

The meeting, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at the Prairie

Island Training Center Auditorium, 1660 Wakonade Dr. West, in Welch. The NRC staff will present

the results of the assessment and be available to respond to questions or comments from the public

before the close of the meeting. 

The public may also participate in the meeting through a telephone conference call. For

instructions on how to participate, interested persons should contact Bruce Burgess at 630/829-9629.

“The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Prairie Island plant and the nation’s

other commercial nuclear power facilities,” NRC Region III Administrator James Caldwell said. “This

meeting will provide an opportunity for a discussion of our annual assessment of safety performance

with the company and with local officials and residents who live near the plant. Our goal is to explain

the NRC oversight process and make as much information as possible available to the public regarding

our regulation of these facilities.”

A letter sent from the NRC Region III Office to plant officials 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 website at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/prai_2006q4.pdf .

The NRC’s assessment concluded that the Prairie Island plant operated safely during the period. 

The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess nuclear plant

performance. The colors start with “green” and then increase to “white,” “yellow” or “red,”

commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved. 

All of the inspection findings and performance indicators for Prairie Island during 2006 were

determined to be “green.” As a result of this performance, the NRC will conduct the normal, baseline

level of inspections during the upcoming year.

However, on Sept. 28, 2006, the NRC issued the plant a Notice of Violation for the failure to

provide complete and accurate information on two applicants seeking a nuclear operator’s license. The

NRC will review the plant’s corrective actions related to this issue in October 2007. 
Routine inspections are performed by two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and

by inspection specialists from the Region III Office in Lisle, Ill., and the agency’s headquarters in

Rockville, Md. Among the areas of plant operations to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are

the operation of the independent spent fuel storage installation; radiological environmental monitoring

program; and identification and resolution of problems.

Current performance information for [name] is available on the NRC’s web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/PRAI1/prai1_chart.html and 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/PRAI2/prai2_chart.html .

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