US NRC Blog Update: NRC Forms Special San Onofre Review Panel

U.S. NRC Blog

NRC Forms Special San Onofre Review Panel by Moderator Victor Dricks Senior Public Affairs Officer Region IV NRC Chairman Allison Macfarlane (second from right) listens as Southern California Edison executive Richard St. Onge (third from right) discusses issues with one of the damaged steam generators at SONGS. The steam generator is in the right foreground. The NRC has established a special panel to coordinate the agency’s evaluation of Southern California Edison Co.’s proposed plan for restarting its Unit 2 reactor and ensuring that the root causes of problems with the plant’s steam generators are identified and addressed. Art Howell, the NRC’s Region IV deputy regional administrator, will serve as co-chairman of the panel along with Dan Dorman, deputy director for engineering and corporate support in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR). Jim Andersen, chief of NRR’s Electrical Engineering Branch, will serve as deputy team manager of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) Oversight Panel. The panel will ensure that NRC communicates a unified and consistent position in a clear and predictable manner to the licensee, public and other stakeholders, and establishes a record of major regulatory and licensee actions taken and technical issues reviewed, including adequacy of Southern California Edison’s corrective actions. The panel also will be responsible for conducting periodic public meetings with the utility and providing a recommendation to senior NRC management regarding restart of SONGS Unit 2. In comments to reporters Monday following a tour of the plant, Chairman Allison Macfarlane said Unit 2 will not be permitted to restart unless the NRC has reasonable assurance it can be operated safely. Other panel members include:  Ed Roach, chief, Mechanical Vendor Inspection Branch, NRO Ryan Lantz, chief, SONGS Project Branch, Region IV Greg Werner, inspection & assessment lead, SONGS Project Branch, Region IV Nick Taylor, senior project engineer, SONGS Project Branch, Region IV Greg Warnick, senior resident inspector, San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Doug Broaddus, chief, SONGS Special Project Branch, NRR Randy Hall, project manager, SONGS Special Project Branch, NRR Ken Karwoski, senior level advisor, Division of Engineering, NRR Michele Evans, director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing (alternate is Pat Hiland, director, Division of Engineering) Moderator | January 17, 2013 at 10:58 am | Tags: NRC, nuclear, San Onofre | Categories: Operating Reactors | URL: http://wp.me/p1fSSY-WV