NRC ISSUES FINAL SAFETY EVALUATION REPORT FOR 

INDIAN POINT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL 

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued its final safety evaluation report (SER) 

for the proposed renewal of the operating licenses for Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit 

numbers 2 and 3, and concluded that there are no open items that would preclude license renewal 

for an additional 20 years of operation. 

 

 The report documents the results of the NRC staff’s review of the license renewal 

application and site audits of the plant’s aging management programs to address the safety of 

plant operations during the period of extended operation. It represents the culmination of NRC’s 

comprehensive review of the application and inspection of the plant to verify license renewal 

implementation is consistent with the application. Overall, the results show that the applicant has 

identified actions that have been or will be taken to manage the effects of aging in the 

appropriate systems, structures and components of the plant and that their functions will be 

maintained during the period of extended operation. 

 Issuing the final SER is a significant milestone in the license renewal review process. 

This process proceeds along two tracks – one for review of safety issues and another for 

environmental issues. The SER marks the completion of the NRC staff’s safety review that is 

published and subsequently reviewed and publicly discussed by the agency’s Advisory 

Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS). The staff is in the process of reviewing the 

environmental part of the Indian Point plant’s license renewal application. That review must be 

completed before a final decision is made on the renewal. 

 The SER and the license renewal application have been provided to the ACRS, an 

independent body of experts that advises the Commission on reactor safety matters. The ACRS 

will discuss the SER during its Sept. meeting, details of which will be posted on the NRC Web 

site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/acrs/agenda/2009/. The ACRS will later 

issue a letter discussing the results of its review. 

 

Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. submitted an application to the NRC in April 2007 to 

extend the Indian Point licenses by 20 years for each unit. The plant, operated by Entergy, is 

located in Buchanan (Westchester County), N.Y. The current 40-year operating licenses for 

Indian Point Units 2 and 3 are due to expire on Sept. 28, 2013 and Dec. 12, 2015, respectively. 

 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 

E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov

Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. 09-133 August 12, 2009
In a letter dated Aug. 11, Brian Holian, the director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor 

Regulation’s Division of License Renewal, provided Entergy with the SER. The SER will be 

available on the NRC’s Web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/indian-point.html. 

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