Nebraska Nuke Plant Remains Shut After Missouri River Flooding
Posted by feww on June 20, 2011
The Fort Calhoun NPP in Nebraska still in shutdown following Missouri River flooding
The federal government insists the plant has not flooded and is NOT expected to pose any danger.
Original caption: The Fort Calhoun nuclear power station in Fort Calhoun, Neb., currently shut down for refueling, is surrounded by flood waters from the Missouri River, Tuesday, June 14, 2011. On Tuesday, the releases at Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota hit the maximum planned amount of 150,000 cubic feet of water per second, which are expected to raise the Missouri River 5 to 7 feet above flood stage in most of Nebraska and Iowa. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik). Image may be subject to copyright.
The 480-megawatt plant which is located north of Omaha shut down about 10 weeks ago to refuel, but has remained shut since due to flooding, according to Omaha Public Power District (OPPD).
The Fort Calhoun NPP has a single CE pressurized water reactor generating about 480 megawatts of electricity, the smallest commercial power reactor in North America.
OPPD is “a customer-owned utility,” which provides electricity to about 346,000 customers in all or parts of 13 counties in east and southeast Nebraska.
“Floodwaters are already surrounding the Fort Calhoun plant. The river has risen 1.5 feet higher than Fort Calhoun’s 1,004-foot elevation above sea level, but the water is being held back by an 8-foot-tall flood barrier,” a report said on Friday.
“When the river reaches 1,004 feet above mean sea level, we shut down,” said OPPD spokesman Jeff Hanson. “We don’t have any idea when we’ll be able to start again.”
OPPD has not issued any updates since June 16, 2011.
Map of the flight restricted areas. Click image to enlarge.
News Links:
- Nebraska Nuclear Plant Lost Cooling System After Fire
- NRC Notification of Unusual Event
- Temporary flight restrictions
Fire Earth 
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