NRC board to hear challenge to changes in Plant Vogtle expansion design

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) will hear arguments on Tuesday in Augusta, Georgia, on a petition contesting a license amendment that changes concrete wall tolerances for the Plant Vogtle expansion near Waynesboro, Georgia.

The petition, brought by the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and its chapter Concerned Citizens of Shell Bluff, alleges that the amendment’s changes do not meet industry or worker radiation protection standards, and that the changes would disproportionately impact Shell Bluff residents living near the site. Southern Nuclear Operating Co. is building the expansion, which consists of two nuclear reactors, Vogtle Units 3 and 4.

The hearing will take place at 10 a.m. in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court at the Federal Justice Center in the Plaza Building, 600 James Brown Boulevard.

The ASLB is an independent body that decides legal challenges to the NRC’s licensing and enforcement actions.