Enhanced emergency plan aligns our fleet for more flexible, strategic response

On July 1, Southern Nuclear implemented a new emergency plan that replaces separate plans for each plant site and incorporates Vogtle 3&4.

“We’ve been working on a single, shared emergency response plan for several years, and we’re so pleased that we’re now aligned as a fleet and enhanced our coordination in responding to a plant event,” said Lee Mansfield, director of Emergency Preparedness. “We also took the opportunity to apply industry-proven implementing procedures and common ERO staffing and training to better align with industry best.”

The new e-plan was submitted to the NRC in August 2015 for review and approval. Preparations for implementing the plan began in the fall of 2016, and recent drills conducted by the Emergency Response Organization utilized the new plan and revised procedures.

Ricky Collings, Emergency Planning coordinator, led the EP team in completing the new e-plan.

“This was a significant task that was a team effort from start to finish,” said Collings. “We have an exceptional EP team, and their commitment to this project and attention to every detail ensured we had a quality plan that enhanced our capabilities as a fleet.”

“We were required to demonstrate that we could respond to an event based on the new e-plan, and our ERO members have worked tirelessly to understand the new plan, provide input for procedure revisions and become proficient in their position,” continued Mansfield. “All ERO members are now qualified under the new standard e-plan.”

The e-plan maintains an addendum for each site with information specific to the respective site. With that said, the volume of the new e-plan is 25 percent less than the previous site emergency plans combined. Also, a new safety evaluation report allowed us to evaluate commitments in each site’s license and make improvements that reduce our regulatory risk.

Mansfield says, “Our previous plans contained licensing commitments and processes that were antiquated and burdensome. Now we have a flexible, strategic plan that allows us to be more effective as an organization and achieve excellent results.”