No: III-14-010 March 21, 2014

CONTACT: Viktoria Mitlyng 630-829-9662

 Prema Chandrathil 630-829-9663

NRC Schedules Public Meeting March 31 to Discuss Performance of 

Monticello Nuclear Power Plant

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold a public meeting with representatives of 

Northern States Power Company, Minnesota, on March 31 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., approximately 30 miles northwest of Minneapolis.

The meeting is scheduled for 6-8 p.m. CST at the Monticello Community Center, 505 Walnut

St., in Monticello. The NRC will present its assessment of the plant’s 2013 performance, talk about 

agency activities, and be available to respond to questions or comments from the public. 

The assessment letter sent from the NRC Region III office to plant officials addresses the 

performance of the plant during 2013 and will serve as the basis for the discussion.

Overall, the NRC found the Monticello facility operated safely last year. 

For the first quarter of 2013, the NRC’s assessment of Monticello’s performance had the plant in 

Column 1, which means it received standard NRC oversight. The plant moved to Column 3 in the 

second quarter, which resulted in increased inspection hours and oversight. This was due to a yellow 

finding of substantial safety significance involving the plant’s failure to have procedures in place to fully 

address the effects of an external flooding scenario. The plant has taken corrective actions to address the 

violation. 

“The plant’s decline in performance warrants additional oversight from the NRC. We expect to 

see improvement and will conduct an in-depth inspection to evaluate if the plant has fully understood the 

cause of the violation, the extent of the problem, and taken sufficient corrective actions to prevent 

recurrence,” said NRC Region III Administrator Cynthia D. Pederson. “We will address public 

questions and concerns about our findings and regulatory actions during the upcoming public meeting.”

The NRC letter also talks about a substantive cross-cutting issue in the area of human 

performance, specifically complete and accurate design documentation, procedures and work 

instructions. The issue will remain open until the corrective actions taken prove to be effective and 

sustained performance improvement is observed in the human performance area. Cross-cutting issues 

are issues that affect multiple areas of plant operation.

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, as the safety 
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significance of the issues involved increases. Performance indicators are statistical measurements of 

plant and equipment performance. 

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. 

The most current performance information for Monticello is available on the NRC website.