No. III-10-015 

Contacts: 

Viktoria Mitlyng 630-829-9662 

Prema Chandrathil 630-829-9663 

 May 6, 2010 

 E-Mail: opa3@nrc.gov

Web site: www.nrc.gov

NRC SCHEDULES REGULATORY CONFERENCE TO DISCUSS AN ISSUE 

RELATED TO PRAIRIE ISLAND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PROGRAM 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with the staff of Northern States 

Power Company, Minnesota, on May 11, to discuss a preliminary finding of low to moderate 

safety significance associated with the plant’s emergency preparedness program. The plant is 

located in Welch, Minn., 28 miles southeast of Minneapolis. 

In May 2009 the utility informed the NRC about a problem with the plant’s capability to 

declare an Alert emergency classification for certain events involving effluent releases from the 

plant. Specifically, the highest measurement capability of three effluent radiation monitors was 

too low to identify radiation levels that would lead the plant to declare an Alert, the second 

lowest of the NRC’s four emergency classifications. 

In 2006, the plant adopted a new scheme for set points that would lead to different 

emergency declarations and the set point for declaring an Alert was increased. However, the 

utility failed to make changes to its program to ensure that Alerts would be declared in a timely 

fashion. 

There have been no actual emergency conditions at the plant that would have required an 

Alert declaration using this equipment. 

“This issue is of concern to the NRC because it constitutes a failure to follow and 

maintain effective emergency plans designed to ensure a prompt and effective response to an 

emergency,” said Mark Satorius, regional administrator of the NRC Region III office in Lisle, Ill. 

“The inability to declare an Alert in a timely fashion in these circumstances would not have 

compromised plant safety but it would have delayed the plant’s response to the situation and 

would have prevented the plant from informing local and state officials in a timely fashion.” 

The meeting, which will be open to public observation, will begin at 1 p.m. in the NRC’s 

Region III office, 2443 Warrenville Road, in Lisle, Ill. The public is invited to observe and NRC 

officials will be available to answer questions. Persons wishing to participate in this meeting by 

toll-free audio telelconference should contact the Region III Public Affairs Officers. This 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Region III 

2443 Warrenville Road 

Lisle IL 60532 
conference is being held to obtain information to assist the NRC in making an enforcement 

decision. No final decisions will be made during this meeting. 

After the regulatory conference, the NRC will review the information received during the 

meeting and make a final determination on the safety significance of this issue. 

The inspection report documenting this issue and the NRC’s final decision will be 

available through the NRC RIII Office of Public Affairs and at the NRC web site: 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html.

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