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-07-009 March 29, 2007

CONTACT: Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 

NRC TO DISCUSS 2006 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

FOR MONTICELLO NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Nuclear

Management Co. on Wednesday, April 4, to discuss the agency’s assessment of safety performance for

last year at the Monticello Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is located in Monticello, Minn.

The meeting, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. at the Monticello

Training Center, MPR Meeting Room, 2100 W. River St., Monticello. 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 Monticello 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 web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/mont_2006q4.pdf

The NRC’s assessment concluded that the Monticello 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 Monticello 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.

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

equipment testing and inspection, emergency preparedness, fire protection, effluent monitoring, and

engineering and design control. The agency will also perform a pre-operational inspection of the

plant’s spent fuel cask storage facility.

Current performance information for Monticello is available on the NRC’s web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/MONT/mont_chart.html

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