The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a series of public meetings to take public input on best practices for community advisory boards for nuclear power plants undergoing decommissioning.
The meetings will contribute to the agency’s preparation of a report to Congress on best practices for forming and operating such local boards, as required by the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act signed into law in January. The report is scheduled to be sent to Capitol Hill by next June.
The meetings will also be held in communities that host nuclear facilities that have closed or are scheduled for retirement in the next few years. The dates are: Aug. 21 for the Palisades plant in Michigan; Aug. 26 for the Humboldt Bay plant in California; Aug. 27 for the Diablo Canyon plant in California; Aug. 29 for the San Onofre plant in California; Sept. 10 for the Vermont Yankee plant; Sept. 11 for the Pilgrim plant in Massachusetts; Sept. 24 for the Kewaunee plant in Wisconsin; Sept. 26 for the Zion plant in Illinois; Oct. 3 for the Oyster Creek plant in New Jersey; Oct. 10 for the Crystal River plant in Florida; and a date to be determined for the Indian Point plant in New York state.
The NRC presented the schedule on Aug. 8 during a webinar offering an overview of nuclear power decommissioning procedures and federal oversight. Eleven reactors are in active decommissioning; 11 are in SAFSTOR mode, under which final decommissioning can be delayed for up to six decades; and 11 operational reactors are due to be retired by 2025.
