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3-13 <br />Memorandum <br />TO: County Commissioners <br />Orange County Ass6m ' bly of Governments <br />Rod Visser, Interim County Manager <br />FROM: Paul Thames, PE, County Engineer <br />DATE: September 18, 2006 <br />SUBJECT: A summary of a) Orange County's past history of involvement in the <br />regulation and regulatory approval of the Shearon Harris nuclear power <br />plant and b) upcoming permitting/licensing efforts for Shearon Harris <br />In November 1998, the Orange County Board of Commissioners learned that Carolina <br />Power & Light (now Progress Energy) had been storing high level nuclear waste (spent <br />nuclear fuel rods from the reactor core) in "temporary' (two to five years) fuel storage <br />pools at the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant in southwestern Wake County <br />(approximately 15 miles south of the Orange County line). The-BOCC also learned that <br />CP&L/Progress Energy was storing not only waste generated at the Shearon Harris <br />plant but was importing waste generated at its Brunswick (Newport, NC) and Robinson <br />(Hartsville, SC) plants as well. The information about CP&L/Progress Energy's waste <br />storage practices came to light as CP&L/Progress Energy was initiating the formal <br />process to request that the -Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) amend the Harris <br />operating permit. CP&L/Progress Energy sought the permit amendment so that it could <br />expand its fuel storage capacity by: 1) completing construction of and puffing into <br />operation two partially completed temporary fuel storage pools (built in conjunction with <br />three reactors originally planned but not constructed); an and 2) modifying the storage <br />racks in the pools to provide for, co <br />a more dense stacking configuration.. <br />CP&L/Progress Energy plans for nuclear waste storage at Shearon Harris did not <br />appear to be consistent with protecting the public health, safety ' and welfare of one of <br />the most densely populated area of North Carolina (approximately two million , <br />individuals living within the 50 mile radius [potential nuclear accident impact zone] of <br />Shearon Harris). The proposed low level nuclear waste storage site adjacent to the <br />Shearon Harris had just been withdrawn from consideration because of these very <br />concerns. In'late 1998, the BOCC attempted initiate* a dialogue with CP&L/Progress <br />Energy to discuss its concerns and obtain more e infotmation, but was unsuccessful. <br />The BOCC then hired two consultants - Dr. Gordon Thompson, an expert on nuclear <br />safety issues and Washington, DC attorney Diane Curran, an expert in nuclear <br />regulatory processes - to investigate CP&L/Progress Energy's proposals and to advise <br />Orange,County as haw to address-its concerns <br />