Groundwater at TVA Nuclear Plants

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) operates three nuclear plants capable of generating 7,800 megawatts of electricity. Groundwater contamination can result from routine nuclear plant activities such as wet storage of spent fuel, leaks from liquid waste pipelines and tanks, and leaks of contaminated cooling water. TVA Nuclear Power Group, Standard Programs and Processes 05.15, Fleet Groundwater Protection Program, establishes a long-term groundwater-monitoring program with the purpose of minimizing the potential for inadvertent releases to the environment from plant activities. Due to risks associated with potential groundwater contamination, we performed an evaluation to determine if TVA Nuclear has taken actions to address issues related to groundwater at nuclear plants, identified during fiscal years 2017 through 2021, in internal assessments, external assessments, consultant reports, and condition reports. We determined TVA Nuclear has taken actions, or no further actions were needed, to address the majority of issues and/or recommendations made. However, two recommendations from 2015 have not been addressed and likely affected TVA’s corporate insurance premiums.