NRC TO DISCUSS PERFORMANCE
OF WATERFORD 3 NUCLEAR PLANT JULY 22
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The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Entergy Operations, Inc., on July 22 to discuss the results of the agency’s assessment of safety performance at the Waterford 3 nuclear plant during 2003. The plant is located about 20 miles west of New Orleans, Louisiana.

The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the St. Charles Parish Courthouse Council Chambers, 15045 River Road, Hahnville, La. The public is invited to observe the meeting and NRC officials will be available before the conclusion of the meeting to answer questions from the public.

"The meeting will give area residents a chance to hear first-hand how NRC inspectors think the plant has been run from a safety standpoint. It is the plant's responsibility to operate in a safe manner, and this is our report card on how they've done in the past year," said NRC Region IV Administrator Bruce S. Mallet.

The performance period to be discussed is January 1 to December 31, 2003. In addition, the NRC staff will provide an overview of how the agency Reactor Oversight Process works.

A letter from the NRC to Entergy Operations addresses the performance of the plant during this period 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/wat_2003q4.pdf .

The NRC concluded that the plant operated safely last year and will receive routine inspections during 2004. The letter to Entergy officials notes that improvements have been made in the area of problem identification and resolution and with corrective actions. NRC staff will continue to monitor these areas of performance through routine inspections.

With regard to security issues, the letter points out that NRC has issued several orders and threat advisories to enhance security capabilities at all nuclear power plants and improve guard force readiness since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The agency has also conducted inspections to review the implementation of these requirements and has monitored the action of plant operators in response to changing plant conditions. The NRC will continue security inspections during 2004.

Current performance indicators for Waterford 3 are available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/WAT3/wat3_chart.html.

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Last revised Wednesday, June 23, 2004