Big Rock Point

[Rennhack]

If anyone has lodging information for this facility, please post it here.

[Rennhack]

Talk About: Big Rock Point

[Rennhack]

Rate Big Rock Point:

[NascarTerry]

Rate Big Rock Eh?? Well that was the last commercial plant I worked at, and that was in the 93 refuel/maintenance outage. My job there was as A Senior H.P/Asst. Site Coordinator trying to help my old Friend Dave Hutton keep things under control. I remember good times as well as bad, as with all outages, but for being as old a plant as it was, it still had a few good miles left in her at the time. It was different to work in an "Antique" reactor and just coming from a Mark 7 you could definately see the progression through the ages so to speak. i.e. "Steam Drum compared to "Steam Tunnel The house techs there were...all in all... top notch...With a few exceptions, but I'll not mention any names . I miss the Old friends that worked there... John Reed, "Big Sam", Randy Mac, as well as others too numerous to mention. And now that the "Rock" is being decommisioned I guess I shall also miss the "Little Reactor that Could", as Her as well as the memories fade into the past. But on a scale of 1-10...... I'd give the working side a 9, but, I'd give the Management side... a 2... And that's being nice.  Take care Big Rock....You done good for your day.

[Camella Black]

If anyone has a favorite hang out, place to shop, or local information on this area please post it here.

[BuddyThePug]

how much D&D work is still left on The Rock, anyhow?

[DecommMan]

Just got back from a meeting of the ANS - BRP has about 2 years or so to go - activated concrete removal is underway now  - ventilation stack and turbine bldg demo is due this year yet.  Everything current cost estimate is $430M.

Upcoming D&D Conference for anyone who might like to do some professional networking and increase state of D&D knowledge base -

ANS Decommissioning Topical Meeting - Denver Colorado - August 2005.

[Jill]

Does anyone have any info they can provide about "The Rock"?  Specifically lodging, local flavor, site conditions, "house" personnel attitudes, just anything you can tell me would be helpful.

Thanks!

[pitbull03]

I can tell you about the 'Rock', have been here for about 8 months. The area is beautiful, full of trees, country, wildlife,etc. Great if you like that sort of thing...the town where the plant is, is a small place, not many folks - tourist thing going on but they are leaving now,big fishing town. Surrounding areas are the same, small quaint places... everyone knows everyone. The closest 'happening' place is Traverse City which is about an hours ride away - has the clubs, etc. Plenty of local pubs around if your into that. As far as 'house folks' there aren't any. Bartlett & Duratek hold the HP/RP contracts so it is one or the other, some work for BMR some for operations... BMR does the surveys, remeidation work, etc. Operations does most work in the sphere or sitting at control point - you will find some from the ops. side who think they are better then everyone else, better then BMR for sure! So guess you could consider them 'house' if you'd like. We are all from the same companies, hired to do the same things, just assigned to different groups. But one tends to believe that those few would feel like they were better then everyone else no matter where they were or what position they were working in. As for management,most are pretty kool, easy to get along with as long as you do your job. The site reps. from both Bartlett & Duratek as straight, both easy to get along with and both seem to do what is needed to help you... I've seen them be fair with what ever comes along. Housing is allright.... now that tourist season is over. Many places for rent, longterm, pricing is fair. You'd do pretty good finding a place furnished if you travel light. Alot of hotels around but even during non-season are pretty pricie. But check them out before you rent, alot only rent during winter months then go way up during season, so you'd have to move again then. Ask if they will have you do that or raise rent, etc. The winters are HARD here, average snowfall is around 14' [yup-14 FEET] per season and the temps. are down around the zeros.... so hope you have plenty of warm clothing, lots of long underware, etc.  The buildings here have no heat or roofs, use space heaters etc.to stay warm during winter.... if your not from the cold area my best advise is to get some coveralls to wear. Anyhow,  hope I've answered your questions..... oh - there is the normal bullcrud too..... some back stabbers.... some at all places. Let me know if you have anymore questions to ask. Are you coming here? When? With who? What position?  Just asking ..... wondering if youll be in our group or not.

[RAD-GHOST]

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!   

Your Crazy Girl!

[Jill]

Hell if I were sane, I wouldn't be in this crazy business!   

[Eightmile]

FWIW, Big Rock has its strong points and its weaknesses - but then I beg you to name a plant (or any work place) that doesn't!

Bartlett and Duratek hold the contracts.  RP is split into two groups - RP Ops and BMR.  For the most part, if you do your job like you're supposed to and keep a positive, friendly attitude, you'll find that the entire site is like one big happy family.  There's only about 300-some-odd folks on site, so most everyone knows you by name, or at least well enough to nod and smile in passing.  However, if you slack off, play the rumor-monger, pass the buck, whatever... well, word tends to get around.

Laborer contractors are BNFL/MOTA and PMC.  BNFL/MOTA are currently working on activated concrete, etc., and - through a subcontract with Beirline - screenhouse demo, stack demo, and turbine/admin bldgs demo.  PMC is mainly working on turbine bldg pipe/soil removal, and I think they're also involved with the screenhouse demo.

The temperature gets pretty chilly, although last winter wasn't TOO bad.  Heating/Cooling was removed last spring, so they run portable heaters where they can.  Still, it's a good idea to invest in a nice carhartt, and a nice pair of warm boots.  Even with the cold and the snow (average snowfall per year being 6-10 feet) it can be very beautiful with the lake frozen over.  Lots of skiing and snowmobiling all winter long.  Summer is reserved for fudgies .  Both Petoskey and Charlevoix have the quaint, small-tourist-town appeal, especially with Petoskey's gaslight district.  Petoskey has a Wal-Mart, other places to shop besides tourist-oriented shops are mainly grocery stores, like Glen's and Carter's.  Traverse City is 60-90 minutes away, depending on where you start from.  Very easy drive, mostly 55mph all the way with vew stop lights.  TC has a mall, Meijer, Best Buy, Red Lobster, Outback... all the nice stuff.

Basically, if you're looking for a fairly easy job, Big Rock is the place.  The pay isn't great, but it's an almost guaranteed 40 hours, with alternating 4-day weekends, which is really nice.  Management has it's own issues, as they always do, and every now and then they actually come up with a solution.

One thing to keep in mind is that both Duratek and Bartlett are asking for a 6-month comittment, and at least for BMR, there is no offer for a lay-off.

[radrat]

I loved it there,
was my long term /temp second HP job.
everyone was very nice and yes they knew you by name. Had a great supervisor I think Tim vance was his name and the other was Georga I think, both great people.  I knew it was going to be a bad winter there but when I was passed on the way to work by 3 snomobiles and was thinking to my self " that looks like fun, there lucky to have the time to do that" and pulled into the parking lot to see that the people on the snowmachines were there allready , thats just not right.  I thing one of the best thing was the work scedule , I think it was 4 on 3 off then 5 on 2 off .
the summers there are great to lots of boats in petoski and lots to do.
if your an 18.1 looking to put in some time , its a great place to start.

[Bernies]

Hi All:

Looking for anyone that helped start up and operate Big Rock and or Palisades Plants.  Many should still be out there.

[Eightmile]

Most of the work at Big Rock is just about over, but you never know, they may decide to bring in more folks.

BRP is close to downtown Charlevoix, which IMHO is mostly a big tourist trap in the summer months.  Several bars here, including The Weathervane, the Townhouse and Whitney's Oyster Bar.  A few miles further on is the Flight Deck, for those who prefer a more homey hole-in-the-wall atmosphere.  Charlevoix tends to have many summer events, including craft shows and concerts.

Heading the other way from BRP, about 15 miles away, is Petoskey.  Wal-Mart is in Petoskey, which is pretty much the only place to do "real" shopping, with the exception of Glen's or Olson's for groceries, or Kmart for other goods.  Across from Walmart is Victories Casino.  Downtown Petoskey has the Gaslight District, and the entire downtown is filled with more tourist-type shops.  Pretty decent, but the aura of expense shrouds most of the stores.  There's also a Salvation Army in Petoskey, for anyone looking for cheap furniture, etc.  Pre- and post-tourist season are the best times to shop at the SA.

The closest mall is located in Traverse City, about an hour south of BRP.  There's also a Meijer in Traverse, as well as a Sam's Club, Best Buy, Toy's R' Us, Wal-Mart, and several restaraunts such as Cracker Barrel and Outback.

Otherwise, the entire area seems filled with casinos and places to ski - it's all dependent on how far you want to travel.  Maybe an hour and a half away is Mackinac Island (good for fudge and "historic" sightseeing) and the Mackinac Bridge, leading to the upper penninsula.  There's plenty to do in the summer if you like water sports, but the summer is a little short for anyone who doesn't like winter.  For those who love winter sports, there's also a lot of snowmobiling, etc.

Good place, but after 2 years I'm looking forward to heading back to the big city.  This place seriously lacks a 24-hour restaraunt.

[Already Gone]

Wow!  They're still at it!?!?!  Considering the size of the plant, it probably has taken more money and energy to decommission BRP than it ever made.  I mean really!!!  Twenty-plus years to take down a puny joint like that is just ridiculous.

Anyway, how has the hunting and fishing been up that way lately?  I heard one fella say he caught a 60 lb. fish up there once, but the wind blew it away.

[Eightmile]

Can't comment on the hunting and fishing myself, just not my style.  But there are a lot of folks up here that thrive on it - plenty of folks with big fish stories and ones-that-got-away, plus with opening day less than 3 weeks away, everyone is gearing up.  I can testify to the deer up here, though.  Had a big ol' buck traipse his way across the road in front of me yesterday morning, and 6 dear altogether in a 14-mile drive the other morning.  Where are the hunters when I need 'em?

As for the Rock, you wouldn't believe that they're still at it, but they are.  The sphere is actually coming down right now, piece by piece, and it looks like a squashed egg.  It's a strange sight, but nice.  In 2 years, I've been here to see most of the large buildings hit the ground.  I hear the guys at work banter about planting grass in June.  For Consumer's sake, I hope they're right... but I won't be here to care about it.  One more day and a wake up!

[Lorrie Henson]

Hubby and I just received an invitation to go Big Rock for their "Green is Clean" celebration in August.  Just wondering if anyone is going.  I think we'll be going.  It's where he and I met.....and the rest is history LOL.  I'd like to go back and celebrate us finding each other....yeah, I'm SUCH a girl LMAO!!!!!!

Lorrie

[Fermi2]

BRP is all gone now? Is anything left?

Mike

[Lorrie Henson]

From what I understand....it's gone....allllllll gone!!!!

Lorrie

[irishfan]

We are just about done! All we have left are a couple of trailers to take down and peel up some more pavement.  If you stand by the trees the view of Lake Michigan sure is beautiful now!
Cat

[Lorrie Henson]

Hey Cat, I knew it was you by you user name, before I even opened up your reply!! 

I just RSVP'd to Pam this morning.  Jim and I will see ya'll soon!!

Lorrie

[DecommMan]

Ski Resort Condos ?   

[Asa1]

Big Rock can't be rated, it's gone.

[Marlin]

Big Rock can't be rated, it's gone.

Maybe we should move this to "Fallen"