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Group tries to block Bellefonte
Published April 1, 2009
The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League on Monday filed a Petition for Review in the District of Columbia U.S. Court of Appeals seeking a judicial inquiry into the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's reinstatement of construction permits for units 1 and 2 at the Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant near Scottsboro.
The Commission voted 3-1 in February to reinstate construction permits in a "terminated" status rather than a "deferred" status as requested in August 2008 by TVA. The utility's construction permits were withdrawn in August 2006 when it decided not to complete the reactors.
At the time construction stopped on Unit 2 at the facility in 1985 it was deemed 58 percent complete. Unit 1 was 88 percent complete when construction was halted in 1988. The reactors were maintained in a deferred status until the 2006 decision.
TVA estimates that both units should now be considered to be half complete since modifications would have to be made to meet current standards and because some of the parts and equipment used in construction have been dismantled and used at other facilities or sold as scrap. A recent report in The Chattanooga Times estimated that TVA either sold or transferred assets from the plant valued at $65 million.
"TVA has cannibalized its original plant, rendering it useless," BREDL's science director, Louis Zeller said in a release from the organization announcing its most recent action Tuesday. "The off-again, on-again history of this plant, the uncertain management, and the unprecedented reinstatement add up to a situation which is both dangerous and illegal."
BREDL and other environmental groups have been staunch opponents of nuclear power in many locations. Zeller has said he and his organization will fight all plans for construction of nuclear reactors at Bellefonte.
NRC Commissioner Gregory Jazcko was the lone dissenter in approving the license reinstatement. BREDL's petition quoted him as saying, "there is an inherent danger in ignoring this obvious fact. Licenses exist for a purpose. We use them to fulfill our statutory mandate of protecting the public health and safety."
TVA contends it needs additional generating capacity to meet growing power demands that are increasing by approximately 2 percent per year in the eight states it serves. It has also implemented conservation, energy efficiency and green technology initiatives to reduce consumption and provide alternative power producing capabilities.
The NRC's reinstatement is a first. But doesn't give the utility a green light. TVA must still meet certain requirements before receiving approval to move the plant, first, to a "deferred" status and then to a point where construction could begin again. Engineering studies and cost estimates on completing the reactors are incomplete.
"The NRC's mission is to protect the public health," Louise Gorenflo, a member of the Bellefonte Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Team (BEST) said this week. "But they're bending over backwards to accommodate TVA and ignoring their role as regulators."
In a February statement reacting to the NRC action TVA said, "reinstatement of the construction permits is the initial step in the process and does not mean that plant construction will begin. A decision to start construction to complete the plant would be made by the TVA board. With the authorization for reinstatement in 'terminated' status, we can now look at what needs to be done to satisfy the NRC requirements to move the plant to a deferred status."
TVA Senior Vice President of Nuclear Generation Development and Construction Ashok Bhatnagar told The Daily Sentinel in August that reinstatement of the permits "would help TVA clarify the regulatory requirements and continue to evaluate the feasibility of using Units 1 and 2 to meet future base load power demand."
TVA is actively working through the process. Construction was completed on the reactor containment buildings, cooling towers, offices and the transmission lines are in place at the site. The utility will decide later this year whether to continue pursuit of a reinstated construction permit as it simultaneously continues to study the possibility of locating two next-generation Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at the site.
As part of NuStart, a consortium of utilities and reactor manufacturers, TVA is preparing a reference licensing permit and engineering design to determine if the new AP1000 technology is suitable, safe and functional. The COL (Combined Operating License) application process, which is expected to take three years, will provide valuable information for other companies wishing to build similar facilities at other locations.
The new reactors are smaller, easier to maintain, less expensive to build and maintain, and have a longer life span than plants currently in operation.
Construction of either type facility at Bellefonte would create and estimated 2,200 temporary jobs. Upon completion approximately 900 permanent jobs would be created to operate the facility.
NRC construction permits for units 1 and 2 were first issued in 1974. They were originally set to expire in 2011 and 2014 respectively.
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