The Fort Calhoun nuclear plant idled since flooding and a fire at the site during a refueling outage in 2011 has formally asked regulators to restart.
The Omaha Public Power District has notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the utility has finished working through a long checklist of improvements to address regulatory violations and safety concerns at the plant. In August of last year, OPPD also signed a 20-year agreement to let Exelon handle the day-to-day management of the plant.
"Major improvements have been made in the safety and reliability of structures, systems and components at (Fort Calhoun Station). The plant, the people and the processes are ready to support safe and efficient restart and operation of FCS," OPPD Chief Nuclear Officer Louis P. Cortopassi wrote in a letter accompanying the Integrated Report to Support Restart of Fort Calhoun Station submitted to the NRC Monday.
As the Omaha World-Herald noted Wednesday, NRC personnel continue to inspect the upgrades and verify that checklist items have been met. Formal approval from the agency will be required before the plant can resume power generation.