Feds filing charges over TVA nuclear reactor site

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Federal prosecutors are filing charges related to the only U.S. nuclear site where a reactor is under construction.

Tennessee Valley Authority spokesman Scott Brooks says the charges relate to the Watts Bar facility in Spring City, north of Chattanooga. He said he didn't know the specifics.

A U.S. Attorney's office statement said prosecutors won't discuss the case until a news conference later Thursday in Knoxville. The TVA inspector general is expected to attend.

TVA has one reactor at Watts Bar and is building another.

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission letter in January cited TVA "errors and omissions" in a project fire protection report and excessive delays in providing information. The letter called on TVA to promptly supply information for its review of an application for a reactor operating license.