Workers are preparing to shut Nebraska Public Power District’s 836-MW Cooper nuclear unit in Brownville as soon as early Saturday because of the rising Missouri River, company spokesman Mark Becker said Friday in an interview. Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience. Register Now A notification of unusual event was declared at 5:46 am CDT Friday, the company said in a statement the same day. An unusual event is the lowest of four emergency categories for US nuclear plants. “The declaration was anticipated for several days by the power plant’s operators, who closely tracked the river’s steady increase in elevation due to the combination of snow melt, frozen ground, heavy rain conditions in Nebraska, and releases of water from upstream reservoirs in South Dakota,” the statement said. “There is no threat to plant employees or to the public; the plant continues to operate safely,” […]