Thursday's meeting between representatives from the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was short. Based on inspections completed in April, the 32-year-old plant is aging gracefully.

Glenn Meyer, a Senior Reactor Inspector for the NRC said, "We found that their application was thorough and they had a credible program for extending the license and managing the effects of aging."

FitzPatrick's operating license expires in 2014. Last August, the plant submitted a renewal application to extend its license by 20 years. Inspectors say management of aging equipment is crux of that application. And so far, FitzPatrick's plan looks good.

"Recently, performance seems to be pretty reasonable, pretty good. We focus on safety and they've done a pretty good job of that," said Meyer.

Thursday's meeting was part of the plant's license-renewal process. If approved the new license would allow the plant to run until 2034.

Bonnie Bostain, the Communications Manager for the FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant, said, "I do live in this community and it does make me very proud to be a part of this company and to be able to contribute to the community for another 20 years.”

FitzPatrick's license renewal process should be complete by May of next year.