NRC addresses LakeLevel Concerns

An official of the government’s nuclear watchdog agency has told a PickensCounty couple that, as long as the level of LakeKeowee is kept 791 feet above mean sea level, OconeeCounty’s three nuclear reactors can continue to operate safely. Robert Pascarelli of the NRC’s Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation said, “If Lake Keowee goes below that level, and it is not restored within three days, the reactors must be placed in cold shutdown.” Pascarelli sent a letter this week to David Netts of the Sunset community in PickensCounty, in response to the couple’s letter that Duke Energy might lower the water level in the lake by five feet, creating a negative effect on waterfront lots and property values. However, the NRC official said the Netts’ concerns are with lake levels in the range of 790 to 800 feet. Moreover, for that, he said, FERC, a different federal agency, regulate operational levels in Keowee. In addition, he referred the couple to that agency, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.