Two companies and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection have reached an agreement to allow the sale and decommissioning of reactor Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant.
Last October, nuclear services firm EnergySolutions signed a contract to buy TMI-2 from FirstEnergy Corp. and several subsidiaries. A subsidiary, TMI-2 Solutions, would be the facility owner, with decommissioning managed by a joint venture of EnergySolutions and New Jersey construction company Jingoli.
The reactor has not operated since a partial meltdown in March 1979, only a few months into its planned service life. The parties hope to complete the sale before the end of 2020, with decommissioning expected to take about 16 years.
“The settlement agreement provides for increased and detailed oversight by the DEP over the decommissioning work, expenditures, and environmental impacts of the dismantlement of TMI-2 by TMI-2 Solutions; ensures local residents are involved in the decommissioning process and informed of key activities; and will enable local officials’ and residents’ input directly to the new owners to address concerns and questions. We look forward to continuing to work through the license transfer process with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.,” Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy said in a statement last week.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in April petitioned to intervene in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s review of the license transfer application for the reactor. Federal approval for EnergySolutions to assume the reactor license is necessary for the sale to proceed.
The DEP’s primary concern had been ensuring there would be enough money to ensure safe completion of decommissioning. The commonwealth agency agreed to withdraw its petition as part of the settlement agreement.
According to the agreement signed on Aug. 10, TMI-2 Solutions is required provide a quarterly financial report that covers the status of the decommissioning trust fund, project costs, and unplanned expenses.
The agreement sets up another TMI-2 Solutions quarterly report to the commonwealth on cleanup progress, a breakdown of the low-level radioactive wastes produced by decommissioning, results from environmental surveillance of the site, and a breakdown of activities planned for the next quarters. All of TMI-2 Solutions’ reports to the NRC will be duplicated to the Department of Environmental Protection.
Also, DEP officials can attend TMI-2 Solutions’ “Plan Of The Day” meetings. The agency will be allowed to conduct independent radiological surveys of the site.
Exelon owns Three Mile Island reactor Unit 1, which shut down last September. The company plans to place it into SAFSTOR mode, under which final decommissioning can be delayed for up to 60 years.
