The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and OPPD will hold a public meeting next week following a change in the status of Fort Calhoun Station.
The nuclear plant was returned to NRC’s Normal Reactor Oversight Program earlier this week. Region 4 spokeswoman Lara Uselding says that designation is for a well-performing plant that doesn’t have significant safety issues.
Uselding says OPPD still has some issues to resolve, such as performing what’s called a design basis reconstitution. "They are making sure that their license and design for the plant is up to date. So that’s one of the items that they’re continuing to work on, and just ensuring that the long-term initiatives that they’ve put in place to address the issues that got them in to increased oversight will continue to be effective."
Fort Calhoun Station initially shut down in April 2011 for refueling. Missouri River flooding and a series of safety issues kept the plant closed until December 2013. In a 14 page letter to OPPD, the Commission outlined four criteria for returning to the Normal Reactor Oversight Program.
The NRC and OPPD meeting is at 6 pm next Thursday at UNO’s Thompson Center.