NRC meetings to brief town on progress of Watts Bar Unit 2 project

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has scheduled two public meetings on Thursday for officials and community members to discuss the construction of Unit 2 at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Watts Bar nuclear plant near Spring City, Tennessee, about 60 miles southwest of Knoxville.

An open house will be held at 5:30 p.m. at McMinn County High School, 2215 Congress Parkway, in Athens, Tennessee, during which NRC staff members will discuss the NRC’s evaluation of construction activities at the site during 2014.

The second meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. and will include presentations by the NRC and TVA officials. The public is invited to observe, and NRC officials will be available to address any questions or concerns.

“As we move closer to making a decision about a license for Watts Bar Unit 2, we felt it was important to give people who live near the site and other interested people an update on what we have done and what is planned, and to answer any questions they may have,” NRC Region II Administrator Victor McCree said.

Last year, NRC staff devoted more than 23,000 hours conducting Watts Bar site inspections, assessments and other investigative construction activities, finding that TVA met all NRC construction-permit conditions.