Washington (Platts)--15May2007

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission May 15 authorized the Tennessee Valley
Authority to restart Browns Ferry-1, removing the last regulatory hurdle to
the unit's return. In a May 15 letter, NRC Region II Administrator William
Travers said, "Based on our extensive review of [the Tennessee Valley
Authority's] activities, completion of necessary revisions to the licensing
and design bases, satisfactory inspection results, and the recommendations of
the NRC's Browns Ferry Restart Oversight Panel and consultation" with top NRC
officials, "I authorize TVA to restart Browns Ferry Unit 1." All three Browns
Ferry units were shut in March 1985 to address various performance and
management deficiencies. Unit 2 went critical on May 24, 1991; unit 3 returned
in November 1995. NRC's approval for restart of Browns Ferry-1 comes almost
exactly five years after the TVA board's May 16, 2002 decision to spend some
$1.8 billion to refurbish and restart the unit.