ML071980045
| ML071980045 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Indian Point  |
| Issue date: | 06/26/2007 |
| From: | Klein D NRC/Chairman |
| To: | Hall J US HR (House of Representatives) |
| References | |
| Download: ML071980045 (3) | |
Text
ENCLOSURE June 26,2007 The Honorable John Hall United States House of Representatives
. Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Congressman Hall:
On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am responding to your letter of May 1, 2007, regarding Entergys formal filing of a license renewal application (LRA) for Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 2 and 3. Specifically, you express concern that Entergy has chosen to move forward with its application for license renewal. In your letter, you urge the NRC, if it accepts Entergys LRA for review, to schedule and hold a robust series of public hearings in the communities surrounding Indian Point to hear concerns from the public first hand.
We value openness in our activities and seek opportunities for meaningful public participation in our licensing processes. Public participation is an important part of the license renewal review process. The NRC staffs license renewal review process includes multiple opportunities for public involvement, such as:
e A formal adjudicatory hearing process that allows any person who may be adversely affected, and who wishes to participate as a party in the license renewal proceeding, to file a written request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene with respect to the renewal of the license.
0 Meetings with members of the public to provide information about the license renewal review process.
e Meetings with members of the public as part of the environmental review to solicit comments during the scoping process and upon issuance of the draft environmental impact statement.
e Meetings with the applicant to present the NRCs inspection findings or to discuss issues related to the safety and environmental reviews, which members of the public are invited to attend. We will welcome the State of New Yorks involvement in these inspection activities.
e Meetings with the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, which members of the public are invited to attend.
J e
Correspondence with the applicant and other stakeholders during the license renewal review that is publicly available through our Agencywide Document Access and Management System.
C In addition, the staff plans to enhance public communications during the license renewal process for Indian Point. For example, as part of our public outreach effort, the NRC hosted a government-to-government outreach meeting on March 20, 2007, for New York State elected officials and Federal, State and local agencies with an interest or involvement in Indian Point.
During this meeting, the NRC staff presented information about the license renewal process and responded to questions. The staff will also hold an information meeting near the plant to discuss the license renewal process, in addition to the public meetings that are normally conducted as part of the environmental review process.
The Indian Point LRA is currently being reviewed by the NRC staff for acceptance for docketing in accordance with the requirements of Section 2.1 01 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 2.101). Should the NRC staff determine that the application is acceptable for docketing, a schedule for the license renewal review will be established and will be made available to the public. To the extent that the substantive issues raised in your letter may affect the license renewal application, they will be evaluated during the course of the license renewal review.
We believe that public participation within the license renewal process, as outlined above, allows ample opportunity for interaction between the NRC staff and the public to address environmental and safety concerns that are within the scope of license renewal. If you have additional questions, the NRC staff would be pleased to meet with you or your staff to discuss the NRCs license renewal and oversight process.
Sincerely,
/RA by Luis A. Reyes For1 Dale E. Klein
Identical letter sent to:
The Honorable John Hall United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 2051 5 The Honorable Maurice Hinchey United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 2051 5 The Honorable Nita M. Lowey United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 2051 5 The Honorable Eliot L. Engel United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 2051 5 The Honorable Christopher Shays United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 2051 5