No: III-13-024 June 20, 2013

CONTACT: Viktoria Mitlyng 630-829-9662

 Prema Chandrathil 630-829-9663

NRC Schedules Public Meeting on Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant’s 

2012 Performance and Transition to Decommissioning 

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

Dominion Energy Kewaunee, Inc., June 25 to discuss the agency’s assessment of safety performance for 

last year and the transition to decommissioning oversight at the Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant. The 

plant is located in Kewaunee, Wis., 27 miles southeast of Green Bay.

The meeting is scheduled for 7-9 p.m. at the Carlton Town Hall, N1296 Town Hall Road, in the 

city of Carlton near Kewaunee. The NRC staff will present the results of the plant’s 2012 annual 

assessment and the transition from the oversight program for operating reactors to the oversight for 

reactors undergoing decommissioning. The NRC staff will be available to respond to questions or 

comments from the public. 

“When the NRC evaluated Kewaunee’s performance for the previous year, we took a look at any 

and all issues of concern and will discuss them during the meeting,” said Region III Administrator 

Charles Casto. “On May 14, the plant informed us that it was permanently shut down. We will discuss 

and answer questions from local residents on our current oversight and how we will continue to meet

our foremost objective of nuclear safety throughout the plant’s decommissioning activities.”

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

performance of the plant during 2012 and will serve as the basis for the discussion.

The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess the

performance of operating nuclear plants. The colors start with green and then increase to white, yellow, 

or red, based on the safety significance of the issues involved. Performance indicators are statistical 

measurements of plant and equipment performance. 

Overall, the NRC found that the Kewaunee facility operated safely in 2012. At the conclusion of 

last year, all performance indicators and inspection findings for the facility were green or of very low 

risk. However, the assessment letter talks about one apparent violation in the area of emergency 

preparedness that was not finalized at the time the letter was issued. 

After issuing the assessment letter, the NRC issued two findings in the area of emergency 

preparedness and fire protection. During the public meeting, the NRC staff will discuss the details of 
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these findings and the NRC’s plans to assess the effectiveness of the plant’s corrective actions under the 

decommissioning inspection program. 

The NRC concluded the inspections for operating reactors and transitioned to the oversight 

program for reactors undergoing decommissioning on May 31. 

The most current performance assessment information for Kewaunee under the oversight process 

for operating reactors is available on the NRC website.

The NRC’s letter on the start of the decommissioning inspection program provides the basis for 

the discussion of further NRC oversight.

Decommissioning inspections will be performed by an NRC resident inspector assigned to the 

plant and by a decommissioning specialist from the Region III Office in Lisle, Ill. Among the areas of 

performance to be inspected this year are activities associated with spent fuel storage and management, 

radiation protection, emergency preparedness and fire protection.