No: I-16-010 April 5, 2016 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610-337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610-337-5331 

NRC to Hold Regulatory Performance Public Meeting

Regarding Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant on April 13 in Plymouth, Mass.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will share information on its annual assessment of safety 

performance at the Pilgrim nuclear power plant during a public meeting on Wednesday, April 13, in 

Plymouth, Mass.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom at Hotel 1620 at Plymouth 

Harbor, 180 Water St. in Plymouth. Prior to the end of the session, NRC staff will answer questions on 

the plant’s performance and the agency’s oversight activities at the Plymouth plant, which is owned by 

Entergy Nuclear Operations Inc.

Determinations on performance are based on a combination of inspection findings and 

performance indicators utilized by the NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process, the foundational program 

used by the agency to complete its mission of assessing plant safety. The findings and indicators are 

classified by color, ranging from “green,” for an issue of very low safety or security significance, to 

“white,” “yellow” or “red,” representing high safety or security significance. 

While Pilgrim operated safely during 2015, the plant was under additional NRC scrutiny. On 

Sept. 2, 2015, the NRC finalized a “white” (low to moderate safety significance) inspection finding for 

the plant stemming from a winter storm-induced shutdown in January 2015 and involving the facility's 

safety relief valves. As a result of the action, in combination with two earlier "white" findings received 

by the plant, Pilgrim moved to the Repetitive Degraded Cornerstone, or Column 4, of the agency's 

Action Matrix, which dictates the agency's level of oversight at plants.

In response to the plant's change in status, Pilgrim is undergoing an NRC review focused on the 

areas in need of improvement. Phase “A” of that three-step review process took place in January, while 

Phase “B” began on April 4. The final phase will be scheduled after the company notifies the NRC of 

its readiness.

“The NRC still has a significant amount of work to do to assess whether the Pilgrim nuclear 

power plant has appropriately addressed the issues that triggered additional oversight,” Acting NRC 

Region I Administrator David Lew said. “With one phase done, one currently under way and more 

inspections planned, this process will shed light on the progress of the improvement activities at the 

plant and inform our inspections going forward.”

In 2015, the NRC performed approximately 10,000 hours of inspection at Pilgrim. 
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The NRC issues reports on performance at each plant twice each year: during the midcycle, 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. 

The Annual Assessment letter for Pilgrim, as well as the notice for the April 13th meeting, are 

available on the NRC website. Current performance information is also available for the plant.

More information about the Pilgrim plant’s performance can be found on an NRC webpage

devoted to the subject.