No: IV-13-039 December 17, 2013

CONTACT: Lara Uselding (817) 200-1519

 Victor Dricks (817) 200-1128

NRC Says Fort Calhoun Plant is Ready to Restart

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined the Fort Calhoun nuclear plant is ready 

to restart after being shut down for nearly three years to address a number of significant 

performance deficiencies. The plant, operated by Omaha Public Power District (OPPD), is located 

19 miles north of Omaha, Neb. 

The NRC restart readiness assessment is based on the NRC having thoroughly reviewed all 

of the extensive actions OPPD committed to take prior to restarting the plant. Fort Calhoun Station

has been shut down since April 2011 for a refueling outage that was extended due to record 

Missouri river flooding. The plant remained shut down to correct a variety of concerns with plant 

equipment, programs and processes. 

Today, Marc Dapas, NRC Region IV Administrator in Arlington, Texas, outlined the 

agency’s decision in a letter to the utility. The letter also closed an existing Confirmatory Action 

Letter (CAL), previously issued by the NRC, to confirm OPPD’s commitment not to restart the 

plant until the NRC had completed its review of OPPD’s actions to address the significant 

performance deficiencies that led to the extended shutdown.

“The NRC has concluded that the plant, people, and processes are ready to support the safe 

restart of the Fort Calhoun Station,” Dapas told the utility. He said the NRC reached that conclusion 

on the basis of more than 23,000 hours of extensive NRC inspections and detailed evaluations to 

independently review more than 450 restart actions items, major improvements made by OPPD to 

the plant’s supporting organizational infrastructure and programs, as well as a number of equipment 

modifications to improve reliability.

When the plant starts up, NRC will have inspectors providing round the clock coverage 

observing restart activities. In addition to two resident inspectors, three inspectors will be on site.

With the decision, the NRC also issued a post-restart CAL to confirm specific actions OPPD 

has agreed to take to ensure long-term performance improvement.

In October, OPPD heated up the plant to normal operating temperature and pressure to 

inspect for any leaks. NRC inspectors observed these activities and determined that the plant and 

personnel performed satisfactorily with no significant issues.
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On Dec. 2, OPPD provided NRC with its restart readiness letter entitled, “Integrated Report 

to Support Restart of Fort Calhoun Station and Post-Restart Commitments for Sustained 

Improvement.” The letter outlined the actions OPPD took to address the restart checklist items and 

provided commitments to implement post-restart actions that will continue to further improve plant 

performance.

An NRC public meeting was held on Nov. 21, in Omaha where staff reported that more than

90 percent of the work was complete or nearing completion. Since then, the remaining restart 

checklist categories have been closed.

The plant will remain under increased NRC oversight until the agency determines that the 

plant’s performance warrants returning it to the normal reactor oversight program.

In addition, the NRC will continue to hold periodic public meetings with OPPD in the local 

community to provide a status of the licensee’s performance improvements.