The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet in Brownville on June 2 with representatives of the Nebraska Public Power District to discuss the agency’s 2009 assessment of safety performance for the Cooper nuclear plant.
The meeting, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. that Wednesday at the Brownville Concert Hall, Atlantic Avenue and Second Street.
In addition to the performance assessment, the NRC staff will be available to answer questions from the public on the safety performance of Cooper, as well as the NRC’s role in ensuring safe plant operation.
“The NRC continually reviews the performance of Cooper and the nation’s other commercial nuclear power facilities,” NRC Region IV Administrator Elmo E. Collins said. “This meeting will provide an opportunity for a discussion of our annual assessment of safety performance with the company and with local officials and residents who live near the plant.”
A letter sent from the NRC Region IV office to plant officials addresses the performance of the plant during 2009 and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/cns_2009q4.pdf.
The NRC said Cooper operated safely during 2009 and will receive routine inspections performed by two NRC resident inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the Region IV Office in Arlington, Texas.
However, the staff has identified a substantive cross-cutting issue in the area of human performance and will focus inspections on this area to ensure that improvements undertaken by the licensee are effective.
Current performance information for Cooper is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CNS/cns_chart.html.