NRC to Host Webinar on Nuclear Plant Decommissioning

COURTESY PILGRIM NUCLEAR POWER STATION

HYANNIS – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will host a public webinar Thursday to discuss the decommissioning of nuclear power plants and to receive feedback on community advisory boards.

The webinar will serve as a kick off for a series of 11 public meetings across the county over the next several months on the same topic.

Under Section 108 of the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act, which became law on January 14, the NRC is required to prepare a report for Congress on the best practices of community advisory boards in communities around decommissioning nuclear power plants.

When Entergy announced the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth would be shutting down the state created a Pilgrim Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel.

Pilgrim shut down its reactor at the end of May.

“They have been meeting on a regular basis and have already had some extensive discussions about what they would like to see happen at the plant,” said Neil Sheehan, an NRC spokesman.

Sheehan said the NRC wants to hear firsthand from the Pilgrim advisory panel and others around the country about what is the best way to increase community participation when it comes to the decommissioning process.

“The purpose of the webinar Thursday will be to talk about the kinds of questions that we will be asking during these public meetings and also trying to provide some basic information about the way the decommissioning process plays out,” Sheehan said.

The process is relatively new for several areas of the country.

“For many of them, they have not experienced this before and they may have many questions about how that takes place,” he said.

The webinar is at 1 p.m. Visit the NRC’s website to find out how to register for the webinar.

Sheehan said one of the public meetings is expected to be held near the Pilgrim plant sometime in September.

“We are still finalizing the details,” Sheehan said.

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