The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a “white” inspection finding to Dominion Energy South Carolina for the V.C. Summer nuclear plant, citing a long-term failure to perform maintenance on the turbine-driven emergency feedwater (TDEFW) pump. The finding, finalized on June 29, indicates low-to-moderate safety significance and keeps the plant under increased regulatory scrutiny.
NRC Oversight and the V.C. Summer Maintenance Failure
According to the NRC, the V.C. Summer plant failed to conduct preventive maintenance on the TDEFW governor valve linkage since 2017. The issue remained undetected until November 2025, when the linkage bound during a surveillance test, causing the pump to trip. NRC Region II acting regional administrator Julio Lara stated in the final determination that the lack of written procedures or documented instructions directly affected the equipment’s performance.
Under the NRC’s four-color reactor oversight process, a white finding is the second-lowest level of significance, sitting above “green” but below “yellow” and “red.” This designation mandates additional inspections to ensure the licensee addresses the root cause of the equipment failure.
The NRC’s action matrix uses a color-coded system to determine the level of oversight for nuclear plants. A “white” finding moves a plant into the “regulatory response” column, requiring supplemental inspections to verify that safety issues are resolved.
Dominion Energy’s Response and Regulatory Status
Dominion Energy South Carolina argued that the violation should be classified as “green,” or very low safety significance. In a May 7 letter to the NRC, the licensee contended that the pump would have successfully performed its safety function under actual emergency conditions, which they argued are inherently less challenging than the parameters used during the November 2025 surveillance test.
The NRC inspectors rejected this argument, maintaining the white finding. Consequently, V.C. Summer remains in the “regulatory response” column of the NRC’s action matrix. This is not the first time the facility has faced such scrutiny; the plant was already in this category earlier in 2025 due to a separate, previously resolved issue involving the overspeed trip device on the same TDEFW pump. The NRC successfully exited that inspection in early June, only for this new finding to keep the plant in the heightened oversight category.
Future Trends in Nuclear Regulatory Compliance
The pattern of repeated findings at V.C. When a plant fails to follow established procedures over several years—as seen with the 2017–2025 gap at V.C. Summer—the NRC increasingly relies on supplemental inspections to confirm that the licensee’s corrective action programs are effective.
For V.C. Summer, the path forward requires a successful supplemental inspection to verify the root cause analysis. Dominion Energy retains the right to appeal the NRC’s final determination within 30 days of the June 29 issuance.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What does a “white” NRC finding mean? It indicates an issue of low-to-moderate safety significance that requires additional NRC oversight and potential corrective actions from the plant operator.
- How long will V.C. Summer remain under regulatory response? The plant will stay in this status until the NRC completes supplemental inspections, confirms the root cause of the maintenance failure is addressed, and officially closes the white finding.
- Can a licensee challenge an NRC finding? Yes. Licensees can provide supplemental information or formally appeal findings. For instance, in 2023, Dominion successfully petitioned to downgrade a preliminary “yellow” finding to “white” after a regulatory conference.
Pro Tip: To track the regulatory status of nuclear facilities in real-time, the NRC’s official website provides the Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) action matrix, which lists the current oversight column for every commercial plant in the United States.
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