Washington (Platts)--23Mar2011/1033 am EDT/1433 GMT

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission will conduct a seismic risk assessment of Entergy's Indian Point plant in New York next year, the first of 27 reviews of nuclear power units at 17 plants, agency spokeswoman Beth Hayden said Tuesday.

SepRrately, NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko "has personally committed to inspect Indian Point," located about 35 miles north of New York City, although "no date has not been determined" for the visit, Hayden said.

The NRC reported these nuclear units will receive the seismic review next year: Indian Point 2, Indian Point 3, Limerick 1, Limerick 2, Peach Bottom 2, Peach Bottom 3, Seabrook, Crystal River 3, Farley 1, Farley 2, North Anna 1, North Anna 2, Oconee 1, Oconee 2, Oconee 3, St. Lucie 1, St. Lucie 2, Sequoyah 1, Sequoyah 2, Summer, Watts Bar 1, Dresden 2, Dresden 3, Duane Arnold, Perry 1, River Bend and Wolf Creek.

The earthquake risk review is part of a new assessment NRC conducted based on 2008 revised US Survey data of seismic activity in the eastern and central US, said Scott Burnell, an NRC spokesman. The review pre-dated the earthquake and tsunami that wreaked havoc this month on the Fukushima nuclear stations.

Burnell categorized the findings as a "very broad bush indicator" that is not sufficient to determine the odds for earthquakes at a given nuclear reactor site.

The NRC is planning to send letters to plant operators late this year.

"The expectation is this analysis would show where plants could improve what already is an acceptable response to seismic events," Burnell said. The 27 units selected for review showed the largest increase in seismic risk from a 1980s-era USGS study, he said.

The Indian Point site was selected as the first to be inspected by NRC next year because the revised seismic data showed the largest increase in seismic risk increase from the previous study, Hayden said.

Senator Barbara Boxer, chairman of of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and Senator Dianne Feinstein, both Democrats, on March 16 wrote to Jaczko asking that NRC inspect both the Diablo Canyon and San Onofre nuclear units, saying they are concerned that the plants "are near earthquake faults."

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, urged NRC to shut Indian Point during the past decade when he was the state's attorney general. Cuomo raised concerns about the two-unit plant's proximity to the Ramapo fault and its discharge of heated water into the Hudson River.

"It is essential that the NRC move quickly to answer the significant and long-standing safety questions surrounding Indian Point," Cuomo said in a statement Tuesday.

Entergy said in a statement Tuesday: "All citizens of New York need to have access to the pertinent facts regarding Indian Point. We strongly believe that knowing the facts will answer the public's questions and will also clearly demonstrate that this facility is safe -- designed with a margin of safety beyond the strongest earthquake anticipated in the area. Accordingly, Entergy welcomes Governor Cuomo's call for a review of Indian Point by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission and stands ready to assist."

--Jim Ostroff, james_ostroff@platts.com

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