NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING ON MAY 4th IN SCRIBA, N.Y., TO DISCUSS

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF NINE MILE POINT, FITZPATRICK NUCLEAR PLANTS

 Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, May 4, 

regarding the agency’s annual assessment of safety performance for the Nine Mile Point and 

James A. FitzPatrick nuclear power plants during 2010.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at the Town of Scriba Justice Center, located 

at 45 Creamery Road in Oswego, N.Y. Prior to the session’s conclusion, there will be an 

opportunity for members of the public to ask questions of the NRC staff regarding the plants’ 

performance, as well as the agency’s oversight of the units.

Nine Mile Point, which is the site of two boiling-water reactors, and FitzPatrick, which is 

the site of a single boiling-water reactor, are located adjacent to each other in Scriba (Oswego 

County), N.Y. Constellation Energy, LLC, owns and operates Nine Mile Point while Entergy 

Nuclear Northeast owns and operates FitzPatrick.

“Our Annual Assessment reviews allow us to step back and gauge whether the nuclear 

power plants we regulate are on the right track in terms of performance and adhering to the 

highest levels of safety,” NRC Region I Administrator Bill Dean said. “Once we’ve completed 

these evaluations, we reach out to the public to share that information and to receive their 

feedback at a location near each plant. We welcome and value these exchanges.”

The NRC utilizes a combination of color-coded inspection findings and performance 

indicators to measure plant performance. The colors start with “green”, representing very low 

safety significance, and increase to “white”, “yellow” or “red”, commensurate with the 

significance of the issues involved.

Overall, the Nine Mile Point 1 and 2 reactors and the Fitzpatrick reactor operated safely 

during 2010.

At the conclusion of last year, as assessed through the NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process, 

there were no inspection findings that were other than “Green” for the Nine Mile Point units or 

any performance indicators that were “Greater than Green” for Nine Mile Point and FitzPatrick. 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region I 

475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406

E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov 

Site: www.nrc.gov

Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov

No. I-11-007

Contact: Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330

 Neil Sheehan (610) 337-5331

April 22, 2011

Email: OPA1.RESOURCE@nrc.gov
However, a “Greater Than Green” inspection finding in the area of security for the FitzPatrick 

plant was finalized on Nov. 4, 2010. Details of the finding are considered sensitive information 

and therefore they are not released to the public, but it will result in additional NRC oversight in 

the area of security for FitzPatrick in 2011. Otherwise, for the rest of 2011, the plants will 

receive the normal, very detailed inspection regime used by the NRC for plants that are operating 

well.

Routine inspections are carried out by two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to each 

plant and by inspection specialists from the agency’s Region I Office in King of Prussia, Pa. In 

2010, the NRC devoted about 6,300 hours to inspection of Nine Mile Point and about 5,300 

hours to inspection of FitzPatrick, including five major team inspections for Nine Mile Point and 

five major team inspections for FitzPatrick. Among the areas at Nine Mile Point being inspected 

this year are emergency preparedness, radiological safety and the plant’s problem identification 

and resolution program. Among the areas at FitzPatrick being inspected this year are fire 

protection, radiological safety and the plant’s security program.

The agency issues its review of performance at specific plants twice a year. Inspection 

findings and performance indicators are also updated on the NRC’s web site, www.nrc.gov, each 

quarter. Following the release of the annual performance reviews every March, the public is 

provided with an opportunity to discuss the results. The meetings, which are held in the vicinity 

of the plant, are in keeping with the NRC’s commitment to transparency and openness with 

regard to its activities.

The annual assessment letter for Nine Mile Point 1 and 2 is available on the NRC web 

site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/nmp_2010q4.pdf. The 

annual assessment letter for FitzPatrick is available on the NRC web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/fitz_2010q4.pdf. The notice for the 

public meeting is available in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and

Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML111050100. ADAMS is available

at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Help in using ADAMS can be obtained via the

NRC’s Public Document Room at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at

PDR.Resources@NRC.GOV.

Current performance information for Nine Mile Point 1 is available on the NRC web site 

at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/NMP1/nmp1_chart.html. Current 

performance information for Nine Mile Point 2 is available on the NRC web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/NMP2/nmp2_chart.html. Current performance 

information for FitzPatrick is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/FITZ/fitz_chart.html.

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