No. I-14-025 May 27, 2014 

CONTACT: Diane Screnci, 610-337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610-337-5331 

NRC to Meet With Entergy on June 4 to Discuss

Performance of Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public open house and meeting on Wednesday, 

June 4, to discuss the agency’s annual review of safety performance at the Indian Point nuclear power 

plant, located in Buchanan (Westchester County), N.Y.

The public meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at the Mansion at Colonial Terrace, 119 

Oregon Road in Cortlandt Manor, N.Y. It will include a formal question-and-answer session regarding 

plant performance and oversight topics. It will be preceded by an open house planned for 6 to 7 p.m. at 

the same location. During the open house, there will be an opportunity for attendees to hold one-on-one 

discussions with NRC staff members about the plant’s performance and the agency’s oversight of the 

facility. There will be a security bag search at the entrance to the open house and meeting.

Under the NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process, color-coded inspection findings and performance 

indicators are used to assess plant performance. (Performance indicators are statistical measurements of 

plant and equipment performance which, if exceeded, trigger additional NRC oversight.) The colors 

range from green, connoting very low safety or security significance, to white, yellow or red, for an 

issue of high significance.

Overall, the Indian Point plant, which is owned and operated by Entergy Nuclear Operations 

Inc., operated safely during 2013. At the conclusion of last year, as assessed by the Reactor Oversight 

Process, there were no performance indicators for the plant that were other than green and no inspection 

findings that were greater than green (that is, none of the findings exceeded very low safety 

significance). As a result, Indian Point will continue to receive the NRC’s normal level of oversight 

during the remainder of 2014, barring any changes.

The normal level of oversight consists of a detailed regime entailing thousands of hours of 

inspection. In 2013, the NRC devoted approximately 9,530 hours of inspection to Indian Point, which 

has two operating pressurized-water reactors.

“We take very seriously the task of stepping back on a regular basis to size up plant 

performance. These comprehensive evaluations help guide our reviews for the year ahead, though we 

maintain flexibility should conditions change,” NRC Region I Administrator Bill Dean said. “Indian 
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Point, by virtue of its performance in 2013, will receive our routine – though still substantial – battery 

of operations.”

The NRC issues reports on performance at each plant twice a year: during the mid-cycle, or 

mid-point, of the year, and at the conclusion of the year. Inspection findings and performance indicators 

are also updated on a quarterly basis on the agency’s website. Following the release of the Annual 

Assessment letters each March, the NRC meets with the public in the vicinity of each plant to discuss 

the results.

Normal inspections are carried out by the three Resident Inspectors assigned to Indian Point. 

Reviews are also performed at the site by specialist inspectors assigned to the agency’s Region I Office 

in King of Prussia, Pa. Among the areas to be inspected this year at Indian Point are fire protection, 

permanent plant modifications and emergency preparedness. In addition, there will be inspections of 

the operation of the plant’s system for moving spent fuel between spent fuel pools and into dry cask 

storage, as well as of the implementation of an industry initiative to monitor the condition of 

underground piping.

The Annual Assessment letter for Indian Point, as well as the meeting notice for the June 4th 

open house and meeting, are available on the NRC’s website. Current performance information is also 

available for Indian Point 2 and Indian Point 3.