ML041030089
| ML041030089 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Cook  |
| Issue date: | 03/08/2004 |
| From: | Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | |
| Schaaf, R G, NRR/DRIP/RLEP, 415-1312 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML040030066 | List: |
| References | |
| NRC-1355 | |
| Download: ML041030089 (66) | |
Text
Enclosure 2 Official Transcript of Proceedings NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Title:
D.C. Cook Application Renewal Public Meeting - Afternoon Session Docket Numbers:
50-315 and 50-316 Location:
Bridgman, Michigan Date:
Monday, March 8, 2004 Work Order No.:
NRC-1355 Pages 1-44 NEAL R. GROSS AND CO., INC.
Court Reporters and Transcribers 1323 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20005 (202) 234-4433
1 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 2
+ + + + +
3 IN RE: THE APPLICATION FOR RENEWAL 4
OF THE LICENSES OF INDIANA MICHIGAN 5
POWER COMPANY, A WHOLLY-OWNED 6
SUBSIDIARY OF AMERICAN ELECTRIC 7
POWER, TO OPERATE D.C. COOK NUCLEAR 8
PLANT UNITS 1 AND 2, at BRIDGMAN, 9
BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN 10
+ + + + +
11 commencing at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, March 8, 2004, 12 at the Lake Township Hall building, 3220 Shawnee 13 Street, Bridgman, Michigan.
14 APPEARANCES:
15 CHIP CAMERON, Meeting Facilitator 16 ROBERT SCHAAF 17 JOHN TAPPERT 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 1
Welcome - Chip Cameron 3
2 Purpose of Meeting - John Tappert 7
3 Overview of License Renewal & Environmental 4
Review Process - Robert Schaaf 9
5 Public Comment Period - Chip Cameron 18 6
Closing - John Tappert/Chip Cameron 41 7
8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
3 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 Monday, March 8, 2004 --
1 (All parties present in meeting room at or 2
about 1:30 p.m.)
3 MR. CAMERON: Good afternoon, everyone.
4 My name is Chip Cameron, and Im special counsel for 5
public liaison at the United States Nuclear Regulatory 6
Commission. And I want to welcome you to the public 7
meeting today. And well try not to use a lot of 8
acronyms today, but if we do, well at least try to 9
explain them. But one that you will hear is "NRC", for 10 Nuclear Regulatory Commission. And the subject of our 11 meeting today is the NRCs environmental review of an 12 application that we received from American Electric 13 Power to renew the operating licenses for the Donald C.
14 Cook Nuclear Power Station, Units One and Two. And as 15 you will be hearing more from the NRC staff today, the 16 environmental review that we do is one part of our 17 evaluation in deciding whether to renew those operating 18 licenses for the Donald C. Cook plant, and its my 19 pleasure to serve as your facilitator this afternoon.
20 And in that role, Im going to try to help all of you to 21 have a productive meeting.
22 Before we get into the substance of the 23 meeting today, I just wanted to say a few words about 24 the meeting process. And the format that were going to 25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 use is really a two-part format for the meeting, and the 1
format matches the objective that we have for the 2
meeting. First part of the meeting is to clearly 3
explain to all of you what the NRCs license renewal 4
process is; what types of information do we look at, how 5
can the public participate in that process. And we have 6
two brief NRC presentations for you to explain that, and 7
then well go out to you to see if there are any 8
questions about that. The second part of the meeting is 9
to listen to any comments or advice, recommendations 10 that you might have today, and were going to give you a 11 chance to make a formal comment to us. And the focus of 12 the meeting today is on environmental impacts and what 13 types of information should the NRC look at in 14 developing its environmental impact statement. So well 15 be looking forward to comments on that, or other 16 concerns or interests that you might have with the 17 license renewal.
18 The staff is going to tell you that were 19 accepting written comments on these issues, but I wanted 20 to assure you that anything that you say at todays 21 meeting will carry the same weight as a written comment 22 that we receive. And we have, Marilyn is our 23 stenographer today; we are taking a transcript of the 24 meeting and that will be our formal record of the 25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 meeting, and it will be available to anybody who wants 1
to take a look at what happened here this afternoon.
2 In terms of ground rules, theyre very 3
simple. After we get done with the NRC staff 4
presentations, then we go for questions. If you have a 5
question, just signal me and Ill bring you this 6
cordless microphone. Give us your name and affiliation, 7
if appropriate, and well go from there. I would ask 8
that only one person speak at a time, most importantly 9
so that we can give our full attention to whomever has 10 the floor at the moment, but also so that we can get a 11 clean transcript so that Marilyn knows who is speaking 12 at any particular time. I always ask people to try to 13 exercise some brevity in their questions and comments so 14 that we can make sure that we hear from everyone who 15 wants to speak today. I dont think were going to have 16 a time problem, but I would just add that as a request.
17 When we get to the formal comment part of 18 the meeting, I would ask you to follow a guideline of 19 five to seven minutes in your comments, and it is a 20 guideline. If you go over a little bit, thats going to 21 be -- thats going to be fine, but try to keep it to 22 five to seven minutes.
23 Let me introduce the NRC speakers who are 24 going to be talking today, and I would mention that we 25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 do have a number of NRC staff and expert consultants who 1
are assisting us in preparing the environmental impact 2
statement. Theyre here today to listen to what you 3
have to say, to answer any questions that you might 4
have. And after the meeting they will be here so 5
theres an opportunity to talk to them informally.
6 Our prepared presentations, were first 7
going to go to Mr. John Tappert, who is right here.
8 John is the -- is the chief of the environmental impact 9
section within the License Renewal and Environmental 10 Impact Program at the NRC, and thats located in our 11 office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. John and his 12 staff are responsible for overseeing the preparation of 13 the environmental reviews on any action that has to do 14 with reactors. In this case, its a license renewal 15 application, but they do it all and they have a lot of 16 expertise in that area. John has been with the NRC for 17 about 13 years. He has also served as a resident 18 inspector. They are the NRCs eyes and ears, so to 19 speak, at nuclear power plants to make sure that the NRC 20 regulations are followed. Before that, he was with the 21 Naval Nuclear Program. He has a Bachelors in 22 Aeronautic and Ocean Engineering from Virginia Tech 23 and a Masters in Environmental Engineering from Johns 24 Hopkins University. John will give you a formal welcome 25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 and give you some overview information on license 1
renewal.
2 And then were going to go to Mr. Bob 3
Schaaf, who is right here. Bob is the Environmental 4
Project Manager on the D.C. Cook license renewal 5
application. And he is specifically responsible for 6
overseeing the environmental review. He is going to 7
give you the overview of the entire license renewal 8
process and specifically the environmental review part 9
of that process. Bob has also been with the agency for 10 about 13 years and, before that, he was at the 11 Charleston, South Carolina, Naval Shipyard. He has a 12 Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech.
13 And I would thank all of you for being with us today, 14 and this is one public meeting. Bob will give you his 15 contact information. So, if you have questions or 16 concerns, please contact Bob, and we can maintain some 17 continuity with all of you after this meeting.
18 And with that, John, do you want to give 19 us a welcome?
20 MR. TAPPERT: Yes. Thank you, Chip.
21 And good afternoon and welcome. As Chip said, my 22 name is John Tappert and, on behalf of the Nuclear 23 Regulatory Commission, I would like to thank you for 24 coming out here today and participating in this process.
25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 I hope that you find the information that we will share 1
with you today will be helpful, and we look forward to 2
receiving your comments, both today and in the future.
3 Wed like to start off by briefly going 4
over the purposes of todays meetings and the agenda.
5 Were going to start by getting a brief overview of the 6
entire license renewal program. This includes both a 7
safety review, as well as environmental review, which 8
will be the principal focus of todays meeting. Then 9
well give you some more details about how we would do 10 that environmental review, which will assess the impacts 11 associated with extending the operating licenses of the 12 D.C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant for an additional 20 13 years. And then well give you some information about 14 the balance of our review schedule and how you can 15 submit comments in the future. And then we get to the 16 real heart of todays meeting, which is to receive any 17 comments that you may have today.
18 First, some context for the license 19 renewal process itself. The Atomic Energy Act gives the 20 NRC the authority to issue operating licenses to 21 commercial nuclear power plants for a period of 40 years.
22 For D.C. Cook, Units 1 and 2, those operating licenses 23 will expire in 2014 and 2017, respectively. Our 24 regulations also make provisions for extending those 25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 operating licenses as part of a license renewal program, 1
and AEP has requested license renewal for both units.
2 As part of the NRCs review of those 3
applications, we will develop an environmental impact 4
statement. Right now were early in that process in 5
what we call "scoping," where we seek to identify those 6
issues which will require the greatest focus during our 7
review.
8 This public meeting here today is part of 9
that scoping process, and your comments today will help 10 shape our review. After we make our preliminary 11 assessments, we will publish a draft environmental 12 impact statement and return here to present our findings 13 in a public meeting. And with that as a brief 14 introduction, Id like to ask Bob to give you some more 15 details on our review. Bob.
16 MR. SCHAAF: Thank you, John. As John 17 said, my name is Bob Schaaf. Im the Environmental 18 Project Manager for the environmental review of the 19 D.C. Cook license renewal application. Ill briefly 20 describe the entire renewal application review process 21 and then discuss the details of our environmental 22 review.
23 Our renewal application review runs, 24 essentially, in two parallel paths; a safety review and 25
10 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 an environmental review. The safety review is supported 1
by on-site inspections and audits and an independent 2
review by the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards.
3 The safety review is focused on review of 4
the applicants programs for identifying and managing 5
the aging of what we call "passive" systems, structures, 6
and components. These programs are the focus of the 7
renewal review because our existing regulatory processes 8
for operating nuclear plants ensure, on an ongoing 9
basis, that "active" systems, structures, and components 10 are inspected, maintained, and replaced as needed.
11 The second review path involves the 12 environmental review, which Ill discuss in detail 13 shortly. The review process also includes on-site 14 inspections and audits by staff from the regional office 15 in Chicago and our headquarters staff outside 16 Washington. And finally, again, the Advisory Committee 17 on Reactor Safeguards, or ACRS, conducts an independent 18 review of the applicants license renewal application 19 and of the staffs review and provides recommendations 20 directly to the Commission. The ACRS is an independent 21 advisory board set up by Congress to review the work of 22 the NRC staff.
23 This figure illustrates the entire renewal 24 review process, highlighting opportunities for public 25
11 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 involvement. The upper path shows the safety review, 1
and lower path shows the environmental review. As noted 2
previously, the safety review includes technical 3
evaluation of the license renewal application by NRC 4
staff, on-site inspections and audits, and independent 5
review by ACRS. In parallel with the safety review, the 6
NRC staff performs its review of the environmental 7
impact of continued operation. Again, I will discuss 8
this shortly.
9 At the end of the process, the final 10 safety evaluation report, the final environmental impact 11 statement, the results of the NRC staffs inspections, 12 and the ACRS recommendations will be used by the agency 13 in making a final determination on whether to renew the 14 licenses.
15 Highlighting the opportunities for public 16 involvement, theyre indicated by the splash marks.
17 The first opportunity was the opportunity to file a 18 petition to request a hearing on the renewal 19 application. That opportunity began in December and 20 closed in early January. That process requires that a 21 petition be submitted to hold hearings on issues that 22 will be litigated by a panel of judges. There were no 23 petitions requesting a hearing for the Cook license 24 renewal review.
25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 The next opportunity for public 1
involvement is todays meeting, which is part of the 2
environmental scoping process. In scoping, we determine 3
the issues that need to be addressed in our 4
environmental review.
5 The next opportunity for public 6
involvement would be when we request comments on our 7
draft environmental impact statement. Finally, oral and 8
written statements can be provided during the ACRS 9
meetings reviewing the staffs review.
10 In addition to these opportunities, 11 throughout this process, members of the public who have 12 nuclear safety concerns can raise those issues during 13 additional public meetings that the NRC will hold to 14 discuss our review of the Cook application. Meetings on 15 particular technical issues are usually held at our 16 headquarters office in Rockville. However, some 17 technical meetings, or meetings to summarize inspection 18 results, are typically held near the plant site. Thats 19 a brief review of the license renewal process. I can 20 take questions regarding that process at this time.
21 MR. CAMERON: Any questions for Bob or 22 John about any aspect of this? Okay. Great. Thank 23 you, Bob. And staff is available after the meeting if 24 there are any questions, as well.
25
13 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 MR. SCHAAF: Ill now proceed to the 1
heart of the presentation, which is discussing the 2
environmental review process.
3 The National Environmental Policy Act, or 4
NEPA, is a Congressional mandate enacted in 1969, which 5
requires all federal agencies to use a systematic 6
approach to consider environmental impacts during 7
certain decision-making proceedings. Its a disclosure 8
tool, which involves the public. And it involves the 9
process in which information is gathered to enable 10 federal agencies to make informed decisions. And then 11 as part of that process, we document that information 12 and invite public participation to evaluate it. The 13 NEPA process for license renewal results in an 14 environmental impact statement, also called EIS, which 15 describes the results of the detailed review that we do 16 to evaluate the environmental impacts of a proposed 17 action that may significantly affect the quality of the 18 human environment. In this case, we are preparing a 19 supplement to the generic EIS for license renewal. The 20 generic EIS addressed a number of issues common to all 21 nuclear plants and identified additional issues that 22 need to be reviewed for each nuclear plant applying for 23 license renewal.
24 Our review considers environmental impacts 25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 of alternatives to the proposed action, including a 1
no-action alternative, which would be simply not 2
approving a request, and the impacts of constructing and 3
operating alternative power-generating facilities.
4 At this point, were in the process of 5
gathering information we need to prepare that 6
supplemental impact statement, and, in particular, at 7
this stage, we are performing what we call scoping. The 8
NRC is having this meeting as part of our scoping 9
process for the purpose of providing you and other 10 government agencies with an opportunity to provide us 11 with any information that they believe may have some 12 bearing on our environmental evaluation.
13 In particular, we are looking for 14 information that may not be readily available or 15 concerns that people might have that may not have been 16 addressed by AEP in their application.
17 This slide describes the objective of our 18 environmental review as stated in our regulations. To 19 paraphrase, we are trying to determine whether or not 20 renewing the Cook license for an additional 20 years is 21 acceptable from an environmental standpoint. I should 22 emphasize that if we conclude that license renewal is 23 acceptable from an environmental perspective, all that 24 means is that it will be environmentally acceptable for 25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 AEP to operate Cook for an additional 20 years. The 1
NRC doesnt determine whether they actually operate for 2
those additional 20 years. That decision is made by AEP 3
and state regulators. It is possible that a utility 4
could determine that its not economically feasible to 5
continue operating a plant, even though it is 6
environmentally acceptable.
7 This slide gives a little more detail on 8
the environmental portion of our license renewal review.
9 AEPs application was received on November 3rd of last 10 year. On February 6th of this year, we issued a notice 11 of our intent to perform scoping, which we are doing 12 now, and our intent to develop an environmental impact 13 statement. Were currently in the data-gathering phase 14 to determine the environmental impacts of renewing the 15 license. After that, we will develop a draft 16 environmental impact statement, which we expect to issue 17 for public comment in September of this year. Well 18 also come back here in early November for another public 19 meeting to talk about the results of our review and to 20 provide an opportunity for public -- for the public to 21 provide any comments they may have on our draft impact 22 statement.
23 After receiving and evaluating any 24 comments, we will then develop the final environmental 25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 impact statement, which we expect to issue in May of 1
next year.
2 We are gathering information for our 3
evaluation from a number of different sources, as shown 4
here. This week well go to the site to review AEPs 5
procedures for managing environmental impacts, and to 6
observe firsthand how the plant interacts with the 7
environment. We are also meeting with federal, state, 8
and local government officials, and we will consider all 9
comments received from the public during the comment 10 period.
11 This slide shows the range of issues, 12 range of environmental topics our team is reviewing.
13 Impacts considered include such things as air quality, 14 water quality, and effects on plants and wildlife. We 15 also look at what we call "socioeconomics" -- how does 16 the plant affect peoples lives economically?
17 We have assembled a team of NRC staff and 18 experts from the national labs with backgrounds in 19 specific technical and scientific disciplines necessary 20 to complete our review.
21 To summarize a few key dates from an 22 earlier slide, our schedule is to complete the scoping 23 process by April 6th, when the public comment period 24 ends. After that, as indicated, we plan to issue our 25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 draft environmental impact statement in September this 1
year, and the final impact statement in May of next 2
year. If you would like a copy of those reports sent 3
directly to you, please be sure to fill out a 4
registration card at the desk.
5 This slide provides you with my phone 6
number in case you have additional questions after you 7
leave today. Im the designated point-of-contact for 8
the environmental review of the license renewal 9
application.
10 Although youre welcome to contact me with 11 any questions, if you wish to have comments addressed in 12 our review, it must be provided either in writing, which 13 we will provide you the addresses shortly, or as Chip 14 indicated, through oral comments given at this meeting, 15 which is being transcribed.
16 Arrangements have been made for the 17 documents associated with the environmental review to be 18 available locally. The Bridgman Public Library and the 19 Maud Preston Palenske Memorial Library in St. Joseph 20 have been kind enough to make shelf space available for 21 documents related to our review. Also, documents are 22 available through our documents management system, which 23 can be accessed on our Internet Web page.
24 After this meeting, comments can be 25
18 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 submitted by mail, in person, or by e-mail. You can 1
send specific written comments to us at the address 2
shown. If you happen to be in the Rockville area, you 3
can deliver them in person, or you can also submit 4
comments by e-mail to the e-mail address indicated on 5
the slide.
6 And this concludes our formal presentation on 7
the environmental review. And in closing, Id like to 8
thank everyone for their attention and for your 9
attendance at todays meeting. And I can take any 10 questions that you might have now.
11 MR. CAMERON: Any questions? Okay.
12 Before we go to public comment, just let me introduce 13 one person. Ivy? Ivy Netzel is back here, and shes 14 one of the resident inspectors, NRC resident inspectors 15 at D.C. Cook.
16 And thank you, Bob. Okay. I was going to 17 ask local governmental elected officials to start us 18 with those people, and then go to the company to get 19 their vision on license renewal.
20 And, first of all, I wanted to ask 21 Mr. John Gast to come up, who is the Lake Townships 22 supervisor, and thank you also for the use of this 23 facility, Mr. Gast.
24 MR. GAST: Youre welcome. Good 25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 afternoon. Im here today in support of the relicensing 1
of the Cook nuclear facility. Im a lifelong resident 2
of the community of Lake Township and currently hold the 3
position of Township supervisor. I retired from a law 4
enforcement career of 26 years, which my work was mainly 5
in Lake Township. I worked closely with Cook plant 6
personnel over the years. The plant and its employees 7
and management have been great community partners and 8
supported many of the non-profit organizations in our 9
area. The economic impact of the Cook facility and --
10 afforded the citizens of this community a stable 11 economic background and growth, as well as the 12 Townships single largest employer. The Township enjoys 13 municipal water, sanitary, water utilities throughout 14 the Township, and one of the lowest millages in the 15 area. Township residents also enjoy a wide range of 16 services provided at no additional cost.
17 Before 9/11 events, Cook Nuclear Visitors 18 Center for years was one of the Townships destination 19 spots for visitors in educational opportunities. The 20 facility was a showcase for our community. The power 21 plant owners have always promoted safety, and AEP is no 22 exception, operating with safety of the public as a top 23 priority and being stewards of our local environment. I 24 personally had no communications concerning the 25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 relicensing of this facility well into the years of 1
2034 and 2037. Thank you.
2 MR. CAMERON: Okay. Thank you, Mr. Gast.
3 I believe we have a representative from State Senator 4
Jelineks office here, Chris Siebenmark. Chris.
5 MR. SIEBENMARK: Good afternoon. A letter 6
of support on Senator Jelineks behalf, and I will 7
continue from here:
8 "Statement of Support: American Electric 9
Power/Cook Nuclear Plant, Bridgman, Michigan.
10 I would like to thank American Electric Power 11 for its commitment to the economic and social 12 welfare of Senate District 21 of the State of 13 Michigan. I applaud its decision to pursue 14 extension of the operating licenses for Cook 15 Nuclear Plant, Bridgman, Michigan, for 20 16 additional years beyond their expiration 17 dates, (Unit 1: 2014 and Unit 2: 2017).
18 "Since Cook Plant began commercial 19 operations in 1975, it has proven itself to be 20 an excellent corporate citizen. Cook Plant 21 contributes to the nearly 20 percent of 22 electricity generated by commercial nuclear 23 plants in the United States. By not burning 24 fossil fuels, it helps our nation conserve 25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 valuable resources and balance our energy mix.
1 Such conservation is imperative, as the U.S.
2 Department of Energy projects our country will 3
need 50 percent more electricity by the year 4
2020. Cook Nuclear Plant, with one of the 5
nations largest generating capacities, could 6
play a vital role in meeting the energy needs 7
of our country and district in the future.
8 "Today the Cook Nuclear Plant generates 9
2.1 million kilowatts of electricity for 10 residences and businesses. It is the third 11 largest employer in Berrien County, providing 12 almost 1,400 AEP and contract jobs, supporting 13 our local, state and national economies with 14
$90 million in total wages. Cook is a major 15 contributor to our tax base to the tune of 16 almost $14 million in 2001.
17 "Cook Nuclear operates with high safety 18 and security standards to protect its 19 employees, property, the environment, and the 20 citizens of our state, emitting no greenhouse 21 gasses, minimizing air pollution, and helping 22 our region achieve its air quality goals with 23 the EPA and Michigan Department of 24 Environmental Quality.
25
22 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 "Cook Nuclear Plant has minimized the need 1
to build additional fossil fuel power 2
facilities on our districts valuable green 3
space to meet our citizens growing electric 4
power needs; occupies only 20 percent of AEPs 5
650 acres of property and uses the rest of the 6
land as sanctuary for hundreds of birds, 7
plants and wildlife, including threatened 8
species; continuously samples the air, soil, 9
foliage, surface and groundwater at over 20 10 different monitoring stations to ensure Cook 11 Plant meets or exceeds environmental 12 standards; safely stores its used fuels in a 13 highly secure location on Cook Plant property; 14 contributes approximately $200,000 annually to 15 United Way, with 50 percent matching donations 16 from AEP.
17 "The AEP Cook Nuclear Plant is a valued 18 and desired corporation in our district. I 19 ask that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 20 give every consideration to the 20-year 21 license extensions of AEP Cook Nuclear 22 Plant -- if AEP Cook Nuclear Plant meets or 23 exceeds the NRCs safety, technical and 24 environmental criteria pursuant to continued 25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 operation. Sincerely, Ron Jelinek, State 1
Senator."
2 If I may add, this morning I was at a 3
meeting with State Representatives Charlie LaSata and 4
Neal Nitz, and they also concur in full with Rons 5
wishes on this endorsement. Thank you.
6 MR. CAMERON: Thank you very much, Chris.
7 And please thank Senator Jelinek for us, too. Were 8
going to go to some representatives of American Electric 9
Power to explain their vision and rationale behind the 10 license renewal application, and then come back to local 11 officials and others. And Id like to introduce Mano 12 Nazar, who is a Senior Vice President and the Chief 13 Nuclear Officer for American Electric Power.
14 MR. NAZAR: Thank you. Im Mano Nazar, 15 Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer for AEP.
16 As you know, AEP is one of the largest utilities in the 17 United States that generates more than 40,000 megawatts 18 nationally. And Cook is a very important source of 19 energy, major resource of energy for AEP. AEP has 20 committed more than $20 million to start this process 21 and apply for license renewal, and there are going to be 22 millions more in looking forward to continue getting 23 ready for the license renewal.
24 License renewal, obviously, is a major 25
24 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 milestone for AEP, Cook, and the community, as youve 1
heard some of the local officials mention.
2 What does 20 years of additional operation 3
mean? It means diverse energy supply; it means 4
environmental balance; it means source a of jobs and tax 5
revenue for the community, as you heard from some of our 6
colleagues. License renewal is all about prevention and 7
detection. And its not any different than the original 8
license process that was granted for -- operate the 9
facility for 40 years. This process includes the 10 careful examination and analysis of the programs to 11 monitor the structures and equipment, to ensure that we 12 prevent failures and take the appropriate action as far 13 as to the failures. Thats what the prevention is all 14 about.
15 I have to mention that I came from Duke 16 Power, Duke Energy, and I was the Plant Manager for the 17 Oconee nuclear site. That is a three-unit power plant, 18 about 3,000 megawatts output, and Oconee was the second 19 power plant that applied for the license renewal, and 20 the 20 additional years was granted by NRC. So, I have 21 been through this process, and as one of the initial 22 license renewal applications that was applied for this 23 nation, went through a good learning process that we are 24 applying to Cook. And thats going to be, obviously, an 25
25 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 asset with moving forward.
1 We have commitment, as AEP and my personal 2
commitment, to the safe operation and support of the 3
community. Our mission is to operate the facility the 4
safest possible while we are caring for employees, our 5
employees, community, and environment. Thank you very 6
much.
7 MR. CAMERON: Thank you very much, Mano.
8 And next were going to hear from Michael Finissi.
9 MR. FINISSI: Thank you. Good afternoon, 10 everyone. My name is Mike Finissi. Im the Plant 11 Manager of the Cook Nuclear Power Plant. Im a 19-year 12 AEP employee, most of which has been spent on the 13 nuclear side supporting the nuclear power plant. A 14 little bit about my background; I have an engineering 15 degree; a business degree; Im a Professional Engineer; 16 and Im also -- I was also a licensed Senior Reactor 17 Operator on this plant, which makes me uniquely 18 qualified to perform my duty as Plant Manager. My 19 number one duty is safety. Safety to protect our 20 children, our community, our employees. An example, 21 last year, we had an inconsequential steam leak on the 22 plant. We could have possibly fixed the steam leak 23 online in one of our components; we elected to go ahead 24 and shut the plant down because thats the safest thing 25
26 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 for our employees.
1 As far as our environmental stewardship, 2
the plant was built, what I call, to blend into the 3
surrounding environment. We do not have cooling towers, 4
and we do not have containment domes which stick up 5
above the sand dunes. Our staff of 20 environmental 6
employees make sure that we meet our state and federal 7
requirements. Also, we have a staff of folks back in 8
Columbus, Ohio, which is our service corporation to 9
support us, as well. As mentioned earlier, we built a 10 nature trail which is tied to our Visitors Center, 11 which allows the community to go and be one with nature.
12 Its actually a unique experience.
13 Our recycling program, we work with the 14 local Gateway Group, which is a benefit for us in that 15 we recycle paper, and also we benefit the community, as 16 well.
17 In conclusion, I believe our submittal was 18 thorough and is accurate. Also, I believe that license 19 renewal is good for the community. It will enable the 20 Cook Nuclear Power Plant to provide low-cost, clean 21 energy for many years to come. Thank you.
22 MR. CAMERON: Thank you very much. Were 23 next going to hear from Rich Grumbier, also from the 24 company, and he is the License Renewal Project Manager 25
27 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 for AEP.
1 MR. GRUMBIER: Good afternoon, everyone.
2 As Chip mentioned, Im the License Renewal Project 3
Manager. My name is Richard Grumbier. Ive been with 4
Cook about five years, and I just want to share just 5
some of the rigor that we put into the application, as 6
well as some of the companys -- AEP, as a corporate 7
company, their environmental stewardship.
8 As Mike indicated, the application is very 9
thorough. We solicited some input from our 10 environmental experts working at the station, as well as 11 hired an outside firm that is experienced with a lot of 12 applications throughout the industry. We spent a lot of 13 time looking at our existing environmental compliance, 14 Department of Environmental Quality for Michigan, the 15 Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, 16 and the report was put together and is supporting the 17 application for continuing operation.
18 Not only are we -- I also want to share 19 that not only are we committed to local environmental, 20 such as the Visitors Center, supporting the Chikaming 21 Park Township, where we assisted in purchasing some 22 land, but we also do environmental or experimental work 23 with wind generators. And were also involved in the 24 Bolivia and Belize forest preservation projects.
25
28 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 To date with the application, weve had 1
three on-site audits from the NRC, as theyre doing the 2
environmental -- Im sorry, not the environmental, but 3
the safety review. And we -- As Bob indicated, we are 4
looking forward to tomorrow where we are starting the 5
environmental site visit. Were prepared to support the 6
NRC in the review, provide whatever information is 7
necessary to assist them in that review, respond to any 8
questions, and we are looking forward to going through 9
this review process and being here for another 20 years.
10 Thank you.
11 MR. CAMERON: Okay. Thank you very much, 12 Rich. And thank you, Mano, for having your team make 13 this presentation -- these presentations to us. Weve 14 been joined by Sheriff Paul Bailey, of the Berrien 15 County Sheriffs Department. Sheriff Bailey. And then 16 well next go to Lieutenant Mays, Michigan State Police.
17 MR. BAILEY: Sorry, Willie.
18 (Laughter.)
19 MR. BAILEY: Im Sheriff Paul Bailey and 20 its great to be here to see all the NRC people and Cook 21 plant personnel. We work very closely with them during 22 the years, since 1975. Since the first reactor was in 23 operation at the Cook Plant, the Sheriffs Department 24 has been there to assist to make sure that all safety 25
29 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 issues are taken care of properly, and we have done that 1
through the Sheriffs Department and the Michigan State 2
Police and all the local departments in the county. We 3
have a good working relationship. Theres 23 police 4
departments in Berrien County, so I feel very confident 5
as sheriff, if something happened, that we could provide 6
protection for our citizens. And we train very well 7
with the personnel at the Cook plant, be it their 8
supervisor of security; and their security officers are 9
a true team that does regular training down there yearly 10 with the plant security, and we have a good working 11 relationship. And as sheriff, I recommend that you 12 approve their licenses so that they continue business 13 here in Berrien County. And thank you.
14 MR. CAMERON: Okay. Thank you, Sheriff 15 Bailey. Now we have Lieutenant Mays. Im sorry if I 16 violated protocol there.
17 (Laughter.)
18 LIEUTENANT MAYS: No, we just have a long 19 history together. Thank you for allowing me the chance 20 to speak on behalf of the Cook Nuclear Power Plant.
21 Just to build off what the Sheriff has 22 said, our relationship has grown so strong over the 23 years. Ive watched the security at D.C. Cook go from 24 an intrusion team to a containment team, now to a 25
30 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 protection team. Our law enforcement agencies all over 1
the county get along very well with the Cook security 2
group. And its really -- unusually, Ive worked at 3
several parts of the State where Ive had the opportunity 4
to train at most -- at several nuclear plants, but I 5
found with Cook, theyre open for suggestions all the 6
time. And if you mention that suggestion to them, when 7
you come back to another meeting, you can see that its 8
already been implemented, and whatever program you say 9
that you can see that they could better their security, 10 is already a done deal.
11 And we can appreciate that in law 12 enforcement and the thing is, now things are being 13 coordinated. When somebody mentioned earlier about 14 having to shut down one of the plants, one of the 15 reactors, I got a call at home to be advised of that, so 16 the communication system -- and since 9/11, we have 17 grown so much stronger since then. As law enforcement, 18 you can really appreciate that. We do all our training 19 there; theyre very open and, also, the thing is, that 20 information that they gave us and put out, sometimes the 21 information they receive before we do, and its kind of 22 unusual, but when they do, they share that information.
23 So, Im in support of D.C. Cook to be relicensed for the 24 following years to come. And if there is any questions 25
31 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 after were done, Id be more than happy to answer. But 1
I really appreciate the time that youve given me, 2
allowed me for this space. Thank you.
3 MR. CAMERON: Okay. Thank you, Lieutenant 4
Mays. Were going to go to three local officials now.
5 First of all, Aaron Anthony, who is the City Manager of 6
Bridgman, and then well go to Craig Massey from the 7
Berrien County Health Department, and then Kevin Ivers 8
of Bridgman Public Schools; then well go to Jeff 9
Knolls, Chamber of Commerce.
10 MR. ANTHONY: Thank you for the 11 opportunity to represent the city at this hearing. We 12 found -- Let me back up just a little bit, because I had 13 a little bit of experience working with both Cook and --
14 it wasnt AEP then, but well say AEP, when I first came 15 to this county in 77. I was the county planning/public 16 works director, which meant that we also dealt with 17 economic development and a number of those issues, so we 18 had a chance to work with the staff that did the 19 economic development at that particular time. Since 20 then, weve got a lot more firsthand -- Although Cook is 21 not directly located within the jurisdiction of the city 22 of Bridgman, its effects are felt in several ways, 23 particularly there through jobs, job development, 24 support for the service industry with restaurants and 25
32 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 service stations and all of that. In addition to those 1
particular items, we were lucky enough to have, after 2
about a 150 loss, when a company moved out of town, to 3
have AEP come in and put their material center within 4
the City of Bridgman. So, in almost every facet of the 5
economic development side of the City of Bridgman, the 6
effect of Cook and AEP can be felt. Youve already 7
heard that theyre a major employer in the county.
8 Well, if you look at their employment figures, and then 9
you look at our town of 2,400, 2,500 folks, not all of 10 them work there, and I wouldnt mind, by the way, if you 11 had those kind of jobs open, but several of them do, and 12 so we get the support, as well, for the citizens here in 13 the city. The city, obviously, on those bases, would 14 endorse and encourage the license renewal. Thats all I 15 have. Thank you.
16 MR. CAMERON: Thanks a lot, Mr. Anthony.
17 And were going to go to Mr. Massey from Berrien County 18 Health Department.
19 MR. MASSEY: Good afternoon. Im the 20 Berrien County Public Health Emergency Services 21 Coordinator, and I work very closely on a day-to-day 22 basis with the Sheriffs Emergency Management Office.
23 My previous career as an Army field artillery officer 24 allowed me the opportunity for quite a few years to be 25
33 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 responsible for my units nuclear weapons, operations 1
and training, and supporting NATOs only multinational 2
corps in northern Europe. At that time, I organized and 3
controlled nuclear weapons accident and incident 4
exercises involving five nations, military and civilian 5
players. Since my arrival here at this position in 6
December of 02, Ive worked regularly on a monthly 7
basis or better, in fact, more recently its been almost 8
on a daily basis, with AEPs local emergency management 9
group. And I can safely say without any qualification 10 that their positive attitude and technical proficiency 11 has favorably impressed me. And they also lend credence 12 to AEPs overall emergency management program. So, in 13 view of -- again, from my limited opinion, of AEPs very 14 professional emergency management program personnel, 15 they are at least one of the many reasons why this 16 application should be favorably considered.
17 MR. CAMERON: Thank you, Mr. Massey.
18 MR. MASSEY: Youre welcome.
19 MR. CAMERON: And were going to go to 20 Mr. Ivers from Bridgman, City of Bridgman Public 21 Schools.
22 MR. IVERS: Thank you for having me here.
23 Good afternoon. As the superintendent of Bridgman Public 24 Schools, I would like to recommend that the application 25
34 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 for the renewal for the D.C. Cook Power Plant be 1
approved. I represent 1,007 students and 145 employees, 2
and, outside of the D.C. Cook Plant, we are probably the 3
largest employer in the City of Bridgman and Lake 4
Township. AEP and D.C. Cook have been partners with the 5
schools for over 30 years. Prior to the 9/11 incident, 6
our students regularly visited the plant, they learned 7
about nuclear power, and they walked the nature trails.
8 We used the Visitors Center and conference rooms to 9
hold Board of Education retreats and many student 10 recognition events. Last March we asked our community 11 taxpayers to help support a recreational millage to help 12 fund our community pool. When we first had that idea, 13 we met with representatives from the Cook plant, and 14 they were in support of this millage, and we were very 15 fortunate that it passed. Without their financial 16 support, we would not be able to provide the level of 17 education that we currently offer to our students. We 18 view the D.C. Cook Plant and AEP as good neighbors, and 19 we support their application for license renewal. Thank 20 you.
21 MR. CAMERON: Thanks a lot, Mr. Ivers.
22 Were going to go to Jeff Knowles, Cornerstone Chamber 23 of Commerce, at this point.
24 MR. KNOWLES: Thank you very much. Its a 25
35 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 privilege to be here today. Im with the Chamber of 1
Commerce. We happen to have 722 members. We promote 2
the brand, "Michigans Great Southwest," because we 3
really do believe everything in Berrien County, the 4
163,000 people, are definitely enriched by the Cook 5
Nuclear Plant. So, we are, obviously, in favor of the 6
relicensing for all of those well-known economic and tax 7
base and job reasons. But let me share with you some of 8
the reasons why we believe this facility is so critical 9
to the quality of life in this area. Maybe some things 10 that you had not thought about. With over 1,400 11 employees, those individuals have partners and spouses, 12 who bring such great skill sets to this area. There are 13 teachers, there are business managers, they work in our 14 hospitals. So, Cook Nuclear supports more than just the 15 direct job base that exists right in this area. The 16 influx of the skills that you have are oftentimes needed 17 and too often overlooked. About a year ago we had a 18 windstorm and lots of trees were blown over, and some of 19 the horticultural engineering staff here at Cook Nuclear 20 gave advice to residents and neighbors about how to wrap 21 the seedlings so you didnt have to cut them up, you 22 could replant them. And today I think we have more 23 mature trees in the area as a result of one tiny skill 24 set that this facility brings to our area.
25
36 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 Id also like to say theyre a cultural 1
leader. Look at Mano. What we find is that of 1,400 2
employees, you have representatives that come from all 3
across the globe and different parts and different 4
regions of our country. And that cultural impact that 5
you have in our community is critical. Because this is 6
a community that is embracing diverse inclusion, and 7
Cook Nuclear is definitely a leader in that area.
8 We also would like to say that youre a 9
social leader. Its not enough to give money, to give 10 to charitable organizations, but its employees who lead 11 those organizations who really do truly enhance our 12 quality of life. Theyre the coaches who made a 13 difference on my son; they are the leaders of churches 14 who bring their accounting skills and their engineering 15 skills to do the right kind of planning. So its not 16 just the money, but its the real influx of your talent 17 and your people that make such a world of difference in 18 this area. And from the Chamber of Commerce standpoint, 19 I would close by offering the following thought:
20 Everyone in "Michigans Great Southwest" embraces this 21 facility, because if you look at development that has 22 occurred since you opened, the quality of development is 23 gravitating towards the Cook Nuclear and not away from 24 it. And so, as a result, people have spoken with their 25
37 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 pocketbooks by saying the new golf courses, the new 1
residential areas, the new shopping locations are all 2
there and all invested because they embrace and support 3
and are looking forward to the licensing renewal for the 4
Cook Nuclear facility. Thank you.
5 MR. CAMERON: Thank you very much. Were 6
going to go to Bill Downey and then Marty Golob and 7
Larry Wozniak. Bill.
8 MR. DOWNEY: I didnt have anything 9
prepared today. I wasnt on the speakers list, but --
10 MR. CAMERON: Why dont I capture you on 11 here.
12 MR. DOWNEY: Sure. Unofficially, speaking 13 as more of public citizen, Im here to support the Cook 14 nuclear facility. I know that my family and a lot of 15 families and friends that I have in the community have 16 been here all of my life, have enjoyed the Cook nuclear 17 facility and particularly the Visitors Center. I think 18 a lot of the success of -- and the support of Cook is 19 due to the Visitors Center and what it has brought to 20 the area and a lot of the outreach in the community.
21 Much has been said by the other speakers here. But 22 speaking very personally as a family guy, knowing that 23 we have such a facility here, and people who are willing 24 to go out and educate our children about power and about 25
38 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 engineering and about all of those things that are 1
available out in the world today, Im very proud to be a 2
supporter of the Cook Center.
3 On a professional note, Ive also been 4
involved with a number of the people at Cook for the 5
past six years, working for Perry Ballet (phonetic),
6 Incorporated; and I know that the people there are 7
extraordinary people, and I would heartily support them 8
for license renewal in that regard, as well. So, 9
unofficial comments. Thank you.
10 MR. CAMERON: Thank you, Bill. Marty, 11 Marty Golob.
12 MR. GOLOB: Good afternoon. Thank you for 13 the opportunity to present this morning. I am Marty 14 Golob. Ive been with the United Way of Southwest 15 Michigan for six years, so Im transplanted to this 16 community, like many of you. I have 15 years experience 17 working with United Way in four different regions of the 18 country. Have a great deal of experience working with 19 utilities at that point in time and the participation in 20 the community. I can say unequivocally Ive never seen 21 a corporate citizen of the caliber of AEP and the D.C.
22 Cook Plant and the participation in the community. I 23 think its core that not only do they involve themselves 24 as a corporation philanthropically in many aspects of 25
39 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 our community, but they support their employees 1
involvement, as well, on boards, and as weve heard 2
spoken of earlier today, in the churches, in the teams, 3
in the events in the community. So we see their 4
employees encouraged to participate in the community.
5 Weve seen AEP get involved regionally on many levels, 6
most recently with Benton Harbor area schools and 7
rebirth and regrowth program for that community in their 8
education base. As a major employer, yes, they do 9
contribute over $200,000 to the United Way of Southwest 10 Michigan annually, and that is just a portion of the 11 economic impact that they have on the health and human 12 services in our community.
13 So, I would, again, heartily encourage the 14 20-year extension being proposed for today. Thank you.
15 MR. CAMERON: All right. Thank you, 16 Mr. Golob. Mr. Wozniak.
17 MR. WOZNIAK: Thank you. After all of the 18 suits and ties, I come here in my blue jeans. Its my 19 day off today. I just want to talk about the economic 20 development part of the Cook plant and nuclear plant 21 here. For the last 10 years that our hotel alone, which 22 is the Park Inn in Stevensville, we have taken in income 23 over $800,000 from nuclear plant employees. So, a lot 24 of people who live in town who are permanent residents 25
40 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 here, but theres lots of transient business who comes 1
in for the plant. Forty percent of that money is the 2
contractors that come in. The Framatome, guys like 3
that, come in and work from other companies who were 4
hired here. So its a lot of money spent at hotels, and 5
Im just one of currently 20 hotels in the area, and 6
thats about 10 percent of our business over the last 10 7
years. So, its definitely a good chunk of our 8
business, and we appreciate that tremendously.
9 Also, the hotels that are here, they also 10 have to do -- theyre eating and theyre buying their 11 gas. They dont eat a whole lot of time when theyre 12 here working now, they dont do much tourism-type 13 things, but they are spending money other places, too.
14 So, the restaurants also benefit, as well as the gas 15 stations, I know for sure, and the movie theater, maybe 16 on their day off or something like that. And the other 17 thing is, the Welcome Center, its been talked about a 18 lot. We miss that Welcome Center. They had the trade 19 shows, you know, the different shows every month or so.
20 The vendors would come in from out of town and stay at 21 the hotel. Sometimes out-of-town guests would be there 22 just for the show itself. But it was also a fantastic 23 tourist attraction. Sure, we joked about when the 24 guests would go to the nuclear plant for the tour, 25
41 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 theyd come back and be their own night-light in the 1
room because theyd glow for 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br />, but, you know, 2
wed just joke about that, and theyd laugh and go on, 3
and everybody had a great time at the plant and at the 4
tour. So, those are definitely two aspects that help 5
the hotels and the economy in our area. Thank you.
6 MR. CAMERON: Thank you, Larry, for coming 7
on your day off to talk with us. Did I miss anybody out 8
there? Is there anybody else who wants to speak at this 9
point? Okay.
10 Well, we do have NRC staff here, experts, 11 consultants, to talk after the meeting, and well be 12 back at seven oclock tonight to do another meeting.
13 And I would just ask, John, do you want to close it out 14 for us?
15 MR. TAPPERT: Sure. Just want to thank 16 everyone for coming out, taking the time out of the day 17 to come to the meeting. We appreciate all your 18 comments. I remind you that our scoping comment period 19 does extend to April 6th, so if you want to amend or 20 have any additional comments, please send them in. And 21 we will be back this evening and the staff will be here 22 after the meeting if you have any personal questions.
23 But thanks again for coming, and thats it.
24 MR. CAMERON: Okay.
25
42 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 MR. GREEN: May I speak?
1 MR. CAMERON: And we have one more 2
speaker.
3 MR. GREEN: Okay. Good. Hi. Yes, sir.
4 MR. CAMERON: Why dont you relax and join 5
us up here. This is Mike Green from Habitat for 6
Humanity.
7 MR. GREEN: Im sorry Im late, folks.
8 MR. CAMERON: Thats okay. Youre just 9
right on time, and you can either use the podium or you 10 can use this, whichever you feel more comfortable with.
11 MR. GREEN: Good afternoon. My name is 12 Mike Green. Im executive director of Harbor Habitat 13 for Humanity, and Harbor Habitat is a non-profit housing 14 organization that -- is in 92 countries all around the 15 world. And, in Benton Harbor in 1996, we started an 16 affiliate that has begun to create housing opportunities 17 for low-income people in the City of Benton Harbor. The 18 employees and the staff at the Cook plant have been very 19 instrumental in our success, and I just want to come and 20 say a few words in support of them.
21 We have been the benefactors of their good 22 will. Many of the employees from the Cook Plant have 23 come and helped us construct houses. In fact, on our 24 board of directors our current president is an employee 25
43 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 for AEP, and we just appreciate what theyve done. In 1
the beginning, 1996, provided some heat pumps for us for 2
our families who needed housing. And then over the 3
years, the plant and the employees have actually helped 4
to construct houses for us, fully funding them.
5 In fact, our current office is located at 6
785 East Main Street in downtown Benton Harbor, and that 7
structure was fully funded by AEP. And we appreciate 8
the employees who came out and helped us build it 9
because it created a presence for us in our community.
10 We want to make a statement that we were going to be in 11 town for the long haul, and credibility is really 12 important in Benton Harbor when you create a non-profit 13 organization. You have to do what you say youre going 14 to do, and we basically needed to gain that credibility 15 over time by constructing houses and being successful at 16 that, and we have done that to date. Weve built 22 17 houses. And I apologize I didnt get the numbers 18 together, but each year AEP has supported us.
19 This year we -- they have offered to fully 20 fund a house for us. Last year they were part of our 21 corporate building, and [redacted] and her family are 22 living in a house that was constructed by the employees 23 of AEP. So I just want to say thank you to the 24 employees. Appreciate the support; been a great 25
44 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 corporate partner for us.
1 And one of the things about Habitat for 2
Humanity is, when a contribution is made, a financial 3
contribution, it has a way of continuing forever. The 4
family that receives a Habitat home must pay for that 5
house. And so when the company makes a contribution to 6
us, the family turns around and makes a mortgage payment 7
to us. That mortgage payment is used to build another 8
house. And then we build a house for another person and 9
that person then begins to make payments back to us, and 10 that continues to revolve and increase another 11 opportunity and builds more houses. And so, every time 12 an organization helps us, it just has a life of its own 13 and just continues on and on.
14 So, I just wanted to come here in support 15 of the employees and the people of AEP and the Cook 16 plant. Its just been a marvelous partnership, and look 17 forward to continuing that in years to come.
18 MR. CAMERON: Okay. Thank you. Okay.
19 And thank you once again for coming out this afternoon.
20 And we are adjourned.
21 (Meeting adjourned.)
22 23 24 25