An advisory panel to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission today announced it has rejected a petition to try to block construction of the original reactors at the Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant.
But in a 40-page opinion, a panel of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board agreed there are “several possible areas of concern” with the mothballed plant and a hearing should be held before any of the reactors ever begin power generation.
The Tennessee Valley Authority, which suspended construction of the twin-reactor plant in 1988, still must get regulatory approval before any construction could begin, NRC spokesman Roger Hannah said. But he said the decision does allow TVA to conduct further tests and prepare to ask federal regulators to upgrade the construction permit to active status when, and if, it decides to finish the units.
TVA is studying whether to finish the original reactors at Bellefonte or pursue building one of the new Westinghouse AP-1000 reactors.
For complete details, see tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press.