- Status of License Renewal Applications and Industry Activities
- http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.html
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- Applications Currently Under Review:
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- H.B. Robinson Nuclear Plant, Unit 2 - Application received
June 17, 2002
- R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 - Application
received August 1, 2002
- V.C. Summer Nuclear Station, Unit 1 - Application received
August 6, 2002
- Dresden, Units 2 and 3, and Quad Cities, Units 1 and
2 - Application received January 3, 2003
- Farley, Units 1 and 2 - Application received September
15, 2003
- Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 2 - Application received October
15, 2003
- D.C. Cook, Units 1 and 2 - Application received November
3, 2003
- Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, and 3 - Application received
January 6, 2004
- Millstone, Units 2 and 3 - Application received January
22, 2004
- Point Beach, Units 1 and 2 - Application received February
25, 2004
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- Future Submittals of Applications:
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- Nine Mile Point, Units 1 and 2 - May 2004
- Beaver Valley, Units 1 and 2 - September 2004
- Brunswick, Units 1 and 2 - December 2004
- Monticello - January-March 2005
- Not Publicly Announced - January-March 2005
- Entergy Plant - July 2005
- Not Publicly Announced - July 2005
- Entergy Plant - December 2005
- Susquehanna, Units 1 and 2 - July-September 2006
- Entergy Plant - July 2006
- Not Publicly Announced - July 2006
- Wolf Creek - September 2006
- Harris - October-December 2006
- Not Publicly Announced - January 2007
- Vogtle, Units 1 and 2 - June 2007
- Hope Creek - July-September 2007
- Salem - July-September 2007
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- Nuclear power plants were designed, constructed
and licensed to operate for 40 years. Dozens of plants have been forced
into early retirement due to accidents, mechanical problems and technical
flaws; including, Dresden-1, Fermi-1, Fort Saint Vrain, Indian Point-1,
San Onfore-1, Three Mile Island-2, and Trojan.
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- In fact the energy source that was once touted as
'being to cheap to meter', has priced itself out of competition. 'Consumers
Energy closed Big Rock simply due to economics. In a deregulated utility
environment, the small size of the plant was likely to make continued operation
uneconomical (Consumers Energy, Press Release). Economic pressures have
forced Haddam Neck, Humboldt Bay, Main Yankee, Millstone-1, Rancho Seco,
and Zion 1 & 2, to close 'prematurely'.
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- Shoreham, operated for two full-power days, or
.000136986% of its estimated operating life, and closed before it could
begin commercial operation.
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- America's aging nuclear fleet continues to produce
approximately 20-30 metric tons of toxic, high-level radioactive waste
per year, per reactor. The technology and funds necessary to safely manage
and isolate nuclear sewage does not exist. Yet most plants have devoted
their 'scare' resources to 'uprates', or increasing their generating capacity
factor.
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- The economics of deregulation and consolidation
have resulted in staffing levels at nuclear generating stations being cut
by an average of 25% over the last five years, e.g., Three Mile Island-1
and Peach Bottom 2 & 3. As workers retire and the industry implements
'attrition' programs, institutional site memory is permanently lost.
The industry insists it can do more with less as it extends the life of
its aging fleet.
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- The current regulatory protocol, the Reactor Oversight
Process (ROP), was instituted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
despite fierce public opposition. The ROP has produced 'deregulated regulation'.
The public has witnessed a net decrease in dedicated inspector hours at
nuclear stations from 3,100 to 2,500. Sam Collins from the NRC's Division
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, noted that the new Reactor Oversight Process
has lead to a 10-15% reduction in inspection hours. However, the Commission
has been able to scrape together enough employees to grant license extensions.
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- Refueling outages, which once occurred annually,
are now required every two years. Preventive maintenance is postponed as
aging reactor components wear out. Dozens of reactors have replaced their
steam generators and reactor vessels as they await certain approval of
2o year license extensions.
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- Despite profound and gaping security lapses, continued
public opposition, flawed emergency plans, lack of radioactive waste facilities,
and an over-reliance on federal and system subsidies, nuclear power plants
have been awarded license extensions. The following generating stations
have been given permission to operate for an additional 20 years beyond
their design basis: Calvert Cliffs Units 1 & 2; Oconee Nuclear Station
Units, 1,2 & 3,Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 1, Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear
Plant, Units 1 & 2, Turkey Point Nuclear Plant, Units 3 & 4, North
Anna, Units 1 & 2, Surry Units 1 & 2, Peach Bottom, Units 2 &
3, St. Lucie, Units 1 & 2, Fort Calhoun, Unit 1, McGuire Units 1 &
2, and Catawba, Units 1 & 2.
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- Plant Applications for License Renewal is a cursory
and perfunctory process involving the Company, the NRC and the Nuclear
Energy Institute (NEI). The process takes 18 to 24 months. Nuclear utilities
spend several million dollars on legal and filing fees preparing an Application,
Review Schedule, Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and Safety
Evaluation Report.
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- The public has been forced to endure an abbreviated
and truncated in-house legal system. State and local laws and regulations
have been preempted by federal mandates and political priorities. No Environmental
Impact Statements are required for a license extension.
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- The process is 'gamed' and no owner has been turned
down for renewal. The Commission invites the industry to design and coordinate
the process. According to the NRC: "The Babcock & Wilcox Owners
Group...has formulated a generic license renewal program...The Westinghouse
Owners Group also has programs for license renewal...General Electric --
The Boiling Water Reactor Owners Group submitted a generic technical report...'
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- The industry's lobbying arm, the Nuclear Energy Institute
(NEI), is intimately involved in all aspects of the relicensing process.
According to the NRC, 'The NEI participates... coordiantes ... working
groups and technical committees...to address generic technical and process
issues, and to develop additional guidance related to scoping and aging
management programs. ...These activities are expected to improve the efficiency
and effectiveness of future license renewal reviews.'
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- Prior to NRC's policy of locking the public out of the
licensing process, the following plants were shut down due to community
opposition:
- Allen's Creek-1;
- Atlantic Generating Station 1 & 2;
- Bailey Generating Station; Black Fox Nuclear Station
1 & 2;
- Blue Hills 1 & 2; Callaway-2;
- Charlestown; Cherokee Nuclear Station 1, 2 &3;
- Clinch river Breeder Reactor; Erie 1 &2;
- Douglas Point Project Nuclear Generating Station 1&2;
- Forked River Generating Station-1;
- Grand Gulf 2;
- Greene County Nuclear Power Plant; Greenwood Unit 2 &
3;
- Harstville A-1, A-2, B-1, B-2;
- Hope Creek Generating Station 2;
- Jamesport 1 & 2;
- Marble Hill Nuclear Power Station 1 & 2;
- Midland Nuclear Power Plant 1 & 2;
- Montague 1&2; New England Power 1 & 2;
- North Anna 3 & 4;
- North Coast Power Plant (Puerto Rico); Palo Verde 4 &
5;
- Pebble Springs Nuclear Plant 1 & 2;
- Perkins Nuclear Station 1,2 & 3;
- Phipps Bend 1 & 2;
- Pilgrim-2; River Bend Station-2;
- Seabrook-2; Shearon Harris Plant 2,3 &4;
- Skagit Nuclear Project Units 1 & 2;
- Sterling Nuclear-1;
- Sundesert Nuclear Plant 1 & 2;
- Tyrone Energy Park-1;
- Vandalia Nuclear Project; WPPSS 4 & 5;
- Yellow Creek 1 & 2;
- William H. Zimmer 1 & 2.
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