NRC AUTHORIZES REINSTATEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION PERMITS 

FOR BELLEFONTE NUCLEAR REACTORS 1 AND 2 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has authorized the reinstatement of the construction 

permits for Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) unfinished Unit 1 and 2 reactors at the 

Bellefonte site near Scottsboro, Ala. 

In 2006, having decided not to complete construction of the reactors, TVA requested that 

NRC withdraw the construction permits for the two Bellefonte units. However, in August 2008 

TVA, citing changing power-generating economics, stated that completing the Bellefonte 

reactors may now be viable and requested that the NRC reinstate the permits. If the Bellefonte 

construction permits had remained in place, they would not have expired until 2011 and 2014, 

respectively. 

TVA also requested that the permits be reinstated with the reactors classified in the 

“deferred” status – a category indicating a plant’s structures, equipment and records have been 

well maintained in a mothballed condition. The Commission denied that portion of the request. 

“The Commission Policy Statement on Deferred Plants is clear and demanding with respect to 

the condition of the facilities and the quality of plant records. The Bellefonte reactors simply do 

not meet that threshold right now,” said NRC Chairman Dale Klein. 

 The Commission chose instead to reinstate the permits with the reactors classified in the 

“terminated” status – a designation which recognizes that the structures, equipment and records 

have not been continuously maintained. This will require TVA to re-establish physical 

conditions and records quality of units 1 and 2 before the units could transition to a “deferred” 

status. This two-step approach provides assurance to the public that the NRC will thoroughly 

scrutinize the plant and that any issues identified will be addressed before TVA can move 

forward. 

 The reinstatement of a withdrawn construction permit is unique. The Commission, after 

considering the technical, regulatory, and legal aspects of TVA’s request, concluded that there is 

sufficient reason to reinstate the construction permits and that a more conservative sequential 

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 

Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. 09-035 February 19, 2009
approach will ensure the safety of doing so. “We will start them out one step at a time so we can 

ensure the safety of these unfinished plants,” Klein said. “They will not be placed in a ‘deferred’ 

status until we are completely satisfied.” 

The agency granted construction permits for Bellefonte’s two pressurized water reactors 

in 1974. By 1988, when TVA deferred completion of the plant, Unit 1 was approximately 88 

percent complete, and Unit 2 was approximately 58 percent complete. There is no nuclear fuel 

on the site. The Bellefonte site is located on approximately 1,600 acres adjacent to the Tennessee 

River in northern Alabama. 

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