Thursday, December 29, 2016

States Are the Nuclear Industry’s Best Hope

Thirty-seven years after a partial meltdown of one of its two reactors made it a symbol of the potential for radioactive catastrophe, the Three Mile Island nuclear plant is still operating—for now. The Dauphin County, Pa., facility represents the perilous economic condition of a nuclear industry besieged by competition from inexpensive natural gas and subsidized wind and solar power. Three Mile Island’s owner, Chicago-based Exelon, said in a statement that unless the government intervenes to keep the plant running, the notorious facility’s “long-term future past 2019” is in doubt.

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Exelon: Request for Withholding Information Regarding Guarantees of Payment of Deferred Premiums

BRAIDWOOD STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2; BYRON STATION, UNIT NOS. 1 AND 2; CALVERT CLIFFS NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2; CLINTON POWER STATION, UNIT NO. 1; DRESDEN NUCLEAR POWER STATION, UNITS 2 AND 3; LASALLE COUNTY STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2; LIMERICK GENERATING STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2; NINE MILE POINT NUCLEAR STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2; OYSTER CREEK NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION; PEACH BOTTOM ATOMIC POWER STATION, UNITS 2 AND 3; QUAD CITIES NUCLEAR POWER STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2; R. E. GINNA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT; AND THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 1 -REQUEST FOR WITHHOLDING INFORMATION REGARDING GUARANTEES OF PAYMENT OF DEFERRED PREMIUMS (CAC NOS. MF8821-MF8842)  

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Tuesday, December 27, 2016

NRC Proceeding "Susquehanna 50-387, 50-388 & 72-28-LT-2"

Letter of Concern Regarding November 21st Decision

NUCLEAR REGULAGTORY COMMISSION

BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

Pursuant to 10 C.F.R. § 2.305, I hereby certify that copies of the foregoing “Letter of Concern Regarding November 21, 2016 Decision, Submitted by Sabatini Monatesti,” dated December 15, 2016, have been filed through the Electronic Information Exchange, the NRC’s E-Filing System, in the above-captioned proceeding, this 15th day of December, 2016.

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DEP Increases Drought Warning to Eight Counties, 26 Counties Remain on Drought Watch

DEP Increases Drought Warning to Eight Counties, 26 Counties Remain on Drought Watch
 
Harrisburg, PA The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has placed four more counties on drought warning status following a meeting today of the Commonwealth Drought Task Force.
 
While recent precipitation over the past few weeks has helped dry conditions in the eastern part of Pennsylvania, the central part of the state still has persistent 90-day precipitation deficits of up to 4 inches from normal as well as low groundwater and stream levels.

Mifflin, Juniata, Snyder, and Union Counties were moved from drought watch to drought warning status. Snyder has a precipitation deficit of 11 inches from normal over the past year.

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NRC Proposes $14,000 Fine for Virginia Firm for Not Obtaining Approvals to Perform Work

NRC Proposes $14,000 Fine for Virginia Firm for Not Obtaining Approvals to Perform Work

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed a $14,000 civil penalty for a Manassas, Va., firm for performing work in the District of Columbia without first obtaining approval from the NRC to do so.

EMSI Engineering Inc. conducted the activities, which involved using portable nuclear gauges to take soil-density measurements at construction sites, on approximately 200 occasions between April 9, 2009, and Nov. 18, 2015.

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SUSQUEHANNA STEAM ELECTRIC STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2 BASELINE SECURITY INSPECTION REPORT 2016403

SUSQUEHANNA STEAM ELECTRIC STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2 BASELINE SECURITY INSPECTION REPORT 05000387/2016403AND 05000388/2016403 
 

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Three Mile Island News Release

Three Mile Island Generating Station Unit 1 Offline for Planned Maintenance

LONDONDERRY TWP., PA. (Dec. 1, 2016) – Operators took Three Mile Island Generating Station Unit 1 offline early this morning to perform planned maintenance on one of several pumps that provide water to the reactor. This maintenance cannot be performed with the plant online.  

Three Mile Island is located 12 miles south of Harrisburg, Pa. in Dauphin County. The plant produces enough carbon-free electricity for more than 800,000 homes. TMI makes a significant impact on the central Pennsylvania economy, including injecting more than $60 million per year through salaries paid to employees. Join us on Twitter and You Tube.


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Nuclear Power Is Not "Green Energy": It Is a Fount of Atomic Waste

Nuclear Power Is Not "Green Energy": It Is a Fount of Atomic Waste
Monday, November 14, 2016 By Arnie Gundersen, Truthout | News Analysis

Starting in 1971, I became a card-carrying member of the "nuclear priesthood." I began as a licensed nuclear reactor operator and progressed through the industry to become a senior vice president. I believed, with religious fervor, that by helping to build and operate atomic power reactors, I would be creating power that was "too cheap to meter." The historic 1973 gasoline shortages and long lines of cars queued at the pumps made it clear to me and hundreds of other nuclear engineers that nuclear power was the only solution to the "energy shortage." In the 1970s and '80s, solving this apparent energy shortage was our only mantra. At that time, there was no scientific data connecting fossil fuels to climate change.

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NRC Approves Transfer of Susquehanna Nuclear Plant Licenses from Talen Energy to Riverstone Holdings

NRC Approves Transfer of Susquehanna Nuclear Plant Licenses from Talen Energy to Riverstone Holdings

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the indirect transfer of the operating licenses for the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and 2, from Talen Energy Corp. to the portfolio companies of Riverstone Holdings, as part of Riverstone’s proposed acquisition of Talen.

The Susquehanna plant has two boiling water reactors and a dry cask spent fuel storage installation located in Berwick, Pa. The reactors are licensed to operate through July 17, 2042, for Unit 1 and March 23, 2044, for Unit 2. The plant is operated by a subsidiary of Talen, Susquehanna Nuclear LLC, which holds a 90-percent ownership stake in the plant. The indirect transfer does not affect the remaining 10 percent, held by Allegheny Electric Cooperative Inc.

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Three Mile Island News Release

Three Mile Island Generating Station Unit 1 Offline for Planned Maintenance

LONDONDERRY TWP., PA. (Dec. 1, 2016) – Operators took Three Mile Island Generating Station Unit 1 offline early this morning to perform planned maintenance on one of several pumps that provide water to the reactor. This maintenance cannot be performed with the plant online.

Three Mile Island is located 12 miles south of Harrisburg, Pa. in Dauphin County. The plant produces enough carbon-free electricity for more than 800,000 homes. TMI makes a significant impact on the central Pennsylvania economy, including injecting more than $60 million per year through salaries paid to employees. Join us on Twitter and You Tube.

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TMI Siren Test on Thursday

TMI EMERGENCY SIREN TEST SCHEDULED FOR DEC. 1
Sirens to sound for three minutes at 12:15 p.m.

LONDONDERRY TWP, PA (Nov. 29, 2016) — 
Exelon Generation will conduct its semi-annual, full volume test of the emergency warning sirens surrounding Three Mile Island Generating Station on Thursday, Dec. 1 at approximately 12:15 p.m. This is one of two semi-annual tests performed each year.


The TMI emergency warning siren system consists of 96 sirens located in parts of Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties that are located within a 10-mile radius of TMI. The sirens are not a signal to evacuate, but a warning to tune to a local Emergency Alert Broadcast television or radio station. County emergency management authorities activate the sirens, which can be used in the event of any emergency, including severe weather.

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NRC Begins Scoping Effort for Environmental Review of Proposed WCS Interim Spent Fuel Storage Facility

NRC Begins Scoping Effort for Environmental Review of Proposed WCS Interim Spent Fuel Storage Facility

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking comments from the public on the issues to be covered in the environmental review of an application from Waste Control Specialists to construct and operate a facility to store spent nuclear fuel in Andrews County, Texas. The NRC will prepare an environmental impact statement to document its evaluation of those impacts and is now taking public comments on the scope.

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Susquehanna - ORDER (On Communication Received and Providing Opportunity to Respond)

ORDER
 
(On Communication Received and Providing Opportunity to Respond)
On November 1, 2016, Mr. Sabatini Monatesti submitted an e-mail and an attachment to members of the Board assigned to preside over an appeal from the NRC Staff’s denial of a request for access to sensitive unclassified non-safeguards information (SUNSI) in the above captioned proceeding.

The submission does not appear to have been properly filed through the Commission’s E-filing system as required by 10 C.F.R. § 2.305(c).

Thursday, December 22, 2016

THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 1 - STAFF REVIEW OF SPENT FUEL POOL EVALUATION ASSOCIATED WITH REEVALUATED SEISMIC HAZARD IMPLEMENTING NEAR-TERM TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATION 2.1 (CAC NO. MF3905)

THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 1 - STAFF REVIEW OF SPENT FUEL POOL EVALUATION ASSOCIATED WITH REEVALUATED SEISMIC HAZARD IMPLEMENTING NEAR-TERM TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATION 2.1 (CAC NO. MF3905)

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