ML090840062
| ML090840062 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Cooper  |
| Issue date: | 02/25/2009 |
| From: | NRC/OCM |
| To: | |
| References | |
| NRC-2688 | |
| Download: ML090840062 (56) | |
Text
Official Transcript of Proceedings NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Title: Cooper Nuclear Station License Renewal Pubic Meeting - Evening Session Docket Number: (n/a)
Location: Auburn, Nebraska Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 Work Order No.: NRC-2688 Pages 1-41 NEAL R. GROSS AND CO., INC.
Court Reporters and Transcribers 1323 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20005 (202) 234-4433
1 1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 2 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 3
4 THE COOPER NUCLEAR STATION 5 LICENSE RENEWAL PROCESS 6 AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCOPING MEETING 7
8 Wednesday, February 25, 2009 9 Auburn Senior Center 10 1101 J Street 11 Auburn, Nebraska 12 13 The above-entitled public meeting was 14 conducted at 7:00 p.m.
15 MEETING FACILITATOR: David Pelton 16 PROJECT MANAGERS: Emmanuel Sayoc 17 Tam Tran 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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2 1 P-R-O-C-E-E-D-I-N-G-S 2 (7:00 p.m.)
3 MR. PELTON: Welcome, everybody. Thanks 4 for coming out tonight. My name is Dave Pelton. I'm 5 a supervisor with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 6 and here representing our Division of License Renewal, 7 along with Manny Sayoc and Tam Tran, the project 8 managers who will be talking to you a little bit later 9 about the detailed review we perform in making a 10 decision about license renewal. But we're really 11 pleased to be here tonight and we really appreciate 12 the City of Auburn opening up their arms and inviting 13 us here and letting us use their Senior Center so that 14 we could hear from the public and put a face and a 15 name to a process. So, we really appreciate you 16 coming out.
17 We're here tonight for a number of 18 reasons. First and foremost, we're here to give the 19 public the opportunity to share their views and ask 20 any questions you have about license renewal and 21 Cooper. But we're also here to walk you through our 22 process for doing our safety review and our 23 environmental review. I have the honor tonight of not 24 only representing the NRC, but also acting as 25 facilitator. So during our public comment section, NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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3 1 we've got a microphone set up here. We ask that you 2 use that as best as possible, because we've got a --
3 Wendy's helping us out with documenting tonight's 4 meeting and as she's taking her notes, it's nice if 5 she can hear what you're saying and she can transcribe 6 it appropriately. We also left you some cards up 7 front that -- for folks that are interested, we asked 8 you to fill those out. And that's really just to make 9 sure that we get your name right so that we can 10 associate your name with your question or comment and 11 get it right, because a lot of the public comments 12 that we do receive, many will be attached and included 13 in our safety -- actually, in our environmental impact 14 statement. So we really appreciate that. We 15 appreciate people's willingness to share their views, 16 and we're interested in hearing all views.
17 Tonight we're going to, you know, the NRC 18 is a Government agency and we sometimes tend to use 19 jargon and acronyms and we're going to try to minimize 20 that as best we can. And we will definitely try to 21 define terms like -- you're going to hear the word 22 "scoping" a lot tonight. You know, scoping, you know, 23 for whether it's safety or environmental, is simply 24 just picking those right things that we can focus on 25 to make sure that this plant would continue to operate NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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4 1 safely if we were to renew its license.
2 When you sat down, we put a couple of 3 different documents in your chair. One is our 4 handouts of the presentation that you're going to see.
5 Another form is a comment form for public meetings.
6 We ask that you take a minute and fill that out and 7 let us know how we did, if you've got positive or 8 negative things to say, you know, you can be critical.
9 You know, it's okay. We need the help. You know, we 10 want to make sure that we make a presentation that is 11 the best and helps folks to feel comfortable sharing 12 their views. So, if you would, please fill those out 13 and you can hand them right back to us tonight or I 14 think there's an address right on the form that you 15 can use so that you could mail it to us.
16 Also, if you have any electronics tonight, 17 if you could just put it on mute, just like I'm doing 18 right now with my own, that'd be great, thanks. By 19 the way, there is a bathroom here. It's out -- walk 20 back out front, kind of do a big U around by the soda 21 machine and you'll see a men's and ladies' room, so if 22 you have to go, please, you're not going to offend me 23 at all. Get up and go. We also have some water in 24 the back, you know, if it gets a little hot and you 25 need a glass of water, please fell free. Just get up NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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5 1 and get yourself a glass.
2 So, as I mentioned a little bit earlier, 3 you know, our program tonight is going to include a 4 discussion on our safety review, our environmental 5 review, and then at the end, we're going to give folks 6 an opportunity to speak. Even if you haven't filled 7 out a card, if all of a sudden you have an epiphany or 8 feel that you'd like to make a comment or ask a 9 question, you don't have to have a card. Just raise 10 your hand, make sure that you let us know who you are 11 and feel free to ask anything you like. So, we don't 12 want to constrain you, just, you know, that cards are 13 required, so it's -- this is your time, so we'd 14 appreciate you asking any way you'd like.
15 I think with that, I am going to turn it 16 over to Manny Sayoc.
17 MR. SAYOC: Thank you, Dave. Good 18 evening. My name is Emmanuel Sayoc. I am one of the 19 two project managers for the NRC's Division of License 20 Renewal. We are coordinating this meeting in 21 association with the Cooper Nuclear Station's license 22 renewal application. The other project manager, as 23 you heard, is Mr. Tam Tran.
24 I want to thank you all for coming here 25 tonight to this meeting. Tonight we will provide an NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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6 1 overview of the license renewal review process, which 2 includes both a safety review and an environmental 3 review. We also describe in more detail the 4 environmental review process associated with license 5 renewal review. The most important thing today is 6 your opportunity for us to receive comments that you 7 may have in the scoping of the environmental review.
8 We also will give you some information about how you 9 can submit comments outside of today's meeting.
10 At the conclusion of tonight's 11 presentation, we will be happy to answer any questions 12 that you may have on the license renewal review 13 process. However, I must ask you to limit your 14 participation to questions only and hold your comments 15 until the appropriate time during today's meeting.
16 Once all the questions are answered, we can begin to 17 receive any comments you may have on the scope of our 18 environmental review. I hope the information we 19 provide will help you to understand the license 20 renewal review process and the role you can play in 21 helping us make sure that our environmental review 22 considers relevant information.
23 Before I get into the discussion of the 24 license renewal review process, I'd like to take a 25 minute to talk about NRC in terms of what we do and NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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7 1 what our mission is. The NRC is a federal agency 2 established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974.
3 It regulates the civilian use of nuclear material.
4 The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 authorizes the NRC to 5 grant a 40-year operating license to nuclear power 6 reactors. This 40-year term was primarily based on 7 economic issues and not on safety or technical 8 limitations. The Atomic Energy Act also allows for 9 license renewal.
10 The National Environmental Policy Act of 11 1969, or NEPA, established a national policy for 12 considering the impacts of federal decision-making on 13 the human environment. As a matter of policy, the 14 Commission determined that reactor license renewal 15 constitutes a major federal action for which an 16 environmental impact statement is warranted.
17 The NRC's regulations governing nuclear 18 safety, security, and environmental protection are 19 contained in Title 10 of the Code of Federal 20 Regulations, which is commonly referred to as 10 CFR. 21 In exercising its regulatory authority, the NRC's 22 mission is threefold: To ensure adequate protection 23 of public health and safety, to promote the common 24 defense and security, and to protect the environment.
25 The NRC accomplishes this mission through a NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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8 1 combination of regulatory programs and processes, such 2 as establishing rules and regulations, conducting 3 inspections, issuing enforcement actions, assessing 4 licensee performance, and evaluating operating 5 experience from nuclear plants across the country and 6 internationally.
7 The NRC has resident inspectors at all 8 operating nuclear power plants. These inspectors are 9 considered as the eyes and ears of the NRC. They 10 carry out our safety mission on a daily basis and are 11 on the front lines of ensuring acceptable safety 12 performance and compliance with the regulatory 13 requirements.
14 Now, turning to Cooper Nuclear Station.
15 The plant was licensed to operate in 1974. The 16 current operating license expires on January 18, 2014.
17 The Nebraska Public Power District filed an 18 application for license renewal on September 24, 2008.
19 The Licensure Renewal Application is 20 required to contain certain elements. First, it 21 contains general information, such as the applicant's 22 name, address, business and administrative 23 information. It also contains technical information 24 which pertains to aging management. This information 25 is the focus of the staff safety review. It contains, NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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9 1 also, technical specifications which define operating 2 parameters of the plant. The applicant indicates 3 what, if any, changes or additions to technical 4 specifications are necessary to manage the effects of 5 aging during the period of extended operation. The 6 application also includes an environmental report, 7 which is the applicant's assessment of the 8 environmental impacts of continued operation. This 9 information serves as a starting point for the staff's 10 environmental review.
11 License renewal involves two parallel 12 reviews, the safety review and the environmental 13 review. These two reviews evaluate separate aspects 14 of the license renewal application. The safety review 15 focuses on aging effects of passive and long-lived 16 components and structures that the NRC deems important 17 to plant safety. The staff's main objective in this 18 review is to determine whether the affects of aging 19 will be adequately managed by the applicant. The 20 review also considers generic and site-specific 21 operating experience related to the effects of aging.
22 The results of the safety review are documented in a 23 Safety Evaluation Report or SER.
24 For the environmental review, the staff 25 considers, evaluates, and discloses the environmental NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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10 1 impacts of continued plant operation for an additional 2 20 years. The staff also evaluates the environmental 3 impacts of alternatives to license renewal. The 4 objective of their review is to determine if the 5 environmental impacts of license renewal are so great 6 that license renewal would not be a reasonable option, 7 or more plainly, is license renewal acceptable from an 8 environmental standpoint? The staff prepares an 9 environmental impact statement, or EIS, to document 10 its environmental review.
11 I would like to mention a few very 12 important areas of NRC oversight that routinely come 13 up during our interactions with members of the public.
14 NRC staff addresses these areas of performance every 15 day as part of the ongoing regulatory oversight 16 provided for all currently operating power reactors.
17 They include emergency planning, security, and current 18 safety performance, as defined by NRC inspection 19 findings, violations, and general assessments of plant 20 performance.
21 For specific information on current 22 performance of Cooper Nuclear Station, use the link 23 provided at the bottom of this slide. This is also in 24 your handout. The NRC monitors and provides 25 regulatory oversight of activities in these areas on NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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11 1 an ongoing basis under the current operating license.
2 Thus, we do not re-evaluate them in license renewal.
3 That is not to say that they are not important, we 4 just do not duplicate the regulatory process in these 5 areas of license renewal.
6 This diagram illustrates the safety and 7 environmental review process. It also features two 8 other considerations in the Commission's decision of 9 whether or not to renew an operating license. One of 10 these considerations is the independent review 11 performed by the Advisory Committee of Reactor 12 Safeguards. Statutorily mandated by the Atomic Energy 13 Act of 1954, the ACRS is a group of scientists and 14 nuclear safety experts who serve as a consulting body 15 to the Commission. The ACRS reviews the license 16 renewal application and the NRC staff's safety 17 evaluation. The ACRS reports their findings and 18 recommendations directly to the Commission.
19 Hearings may also be conducted.
20 Interested stakeholders may submit concerns or 21 contentions and request a hearing. An adjudicatory 22 panel from the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will 23 be established to review contentions for 24 admissibility. If a hearing is granted, the 25 Commission considers the outcome of the hearing NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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12 1 process in its decision of whether or not to issue a 2 renewed operating license.
3 Now, I'm going to describe the license 4 renewal review process in a little more detail, 5 starting with the safety review. The regulations 6 governing license renewal are based on two guiding 7 principles. To effectively communicate these 8 principles, I need to describe a concept or term of 9 art used by the NRC. That concept is called licensing 10 basis.
11 Licensing basis consists of a wide range 12 of design and operational requirements and conditions 13 that must be met for the plant to comply with its 14 operating license. It serves as the basis upon which 15 the NRC originally licensed a plant. To continue to 16 operate, the plant must conform with its licensing 17 basis.
18 As I mentioned, the regulations governing 19 license renewal are based on two guiding principles 20 that relate back to licensing basis. The first 21 principle is that the current regulatory process is 22 adequate to ensure that the licensing basis of all 23 operating plants provides and maintains an acceptable 24 level of safety.
25 The second principle is that the current NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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13 1 plant-specific licensing basis must be maintained 2 during their renewal term in the same manner and to 3 the same extent as during the original license term.
4 In other words, the same rules that apply under the 5 current license will apply in the renewal term. In 6 addition, a renewed license will include conditions 7 that must be met to ensure aging structures and 8 components important to safety are adequately managed 9 so that the plant's current licensing basis is 10 maintained during the period of extended operation.
11 The safety review is rigorous. The staff 12 reviews the applicant's license renewal application 13 and supporting documentation. This review includes an 14 evaluation of new and existing programs and 15 surveillance activities to determine with reasonable 16 assurance that the effects of aging on certain plant 17 structures and components will be adequately managed 18 or monitored.
19 The safety review also includes site 20 audits to verify the technical basis of the license 21 renewal application and to confirm that the 22 applicant's aging management programs and activities 23 conform with how they are described in the 24 application. The staff documents the basis and 25 conclusions of its review in a safety evaluation NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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14 1 report, or SER, which is publicly available. In 2 addition, a team of specialized inspectors travel to 3 their reactor site to verify that aging management 4 programs are being implemented, modified, or planned 5 consistent with the license renewal application.
6 Finally, as I have mentioned, that 7 Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards performs an 8 independent review of the license renewal application 9 and the staff safety evaluation report. It makes a 10 recommendation to the Commission regarding the 11 proposed action to issue a renewed operating license.
12 Now, turning to the environmental review 13 for license renewal. The review is performed in 14 accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 15 of 1969, or NEPA. NEPA provides a basic architecture 16 for federal environmental review requirements. it 17 requires that all federal agencies follow a systematic 18 approach in evaluating potential impacts associated 19 with major federal actions and alternatives to those 20 actions. By law, the NEPA process involves public 21 participation and public disclosure. The National 22 Environmental Policy Act also established the U.S.
23 Council on Environmental Quality, or CEQ, which is 24 within the Executive office of the President. CEQ 25 establishes policy for implementation of NEPA. The NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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15 1 NRC's environmental regulations contained in 10 CFR 2 Part 51 are largely based on those that CEQ developed.
3 Our environmental reviews consider the 4 impact of the license renewal and any mitigation for 5 those impacts we consider to be significant. We also 6 consider the impacts of alternatives to the license 7 renewal, including the impacts of not issuing a 8 renewed license. The staff documents this 9 environmental review in an environmental impact 10 statement.
11 That concludes my presentation on the 12 license renewal process. Next, Tam Tran will provide 13 more detail on the environmental review and scoping 14 process.
15 MR. TRAN: Thank you, Manny. My name is 16 Tam Tran. I'm the second project manager for the 17 Cooper Nuclear Station license renewal application 18 review. I will cover the environmental review process 19 next.
20 For a license renewal review, the NRC 21 looks at a wide range of environment impacts as a part 22 of preparing the environmental impact statement. In 23 conducting our environmental review, we consult with 24 various federal, state, and local officials, as well 25 as leaders of Native American nations, and gather NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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16 1 pertinent information from these sources to ensure 2 they're considered in our analysis. As illustrated on 3 this slide about cooperating agencies, examples 4 include U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental 5 Protection Agency, Nebraska Department of Natural 6 Resources, State Bureau of Radiation Protection, 7 Nebraska State Historical Preservation Office, and so 8 on.
9 The environmental review begins with a 10 scoping process. The purpose of the scoping process 11 is to identify significant issues that should be 12 considered in the environmental review. We are now 13 gathering information that we will use to prepare an 14 environmental impact statement for the license renewal 15 of Cooper Nuclear Station. As part of that process, 16 we are here to collect your comments on the scope of 17 the environmental review, that is, the environmental 18 impacts that the staff should consider. The staff has 19 developed a generic environmental impact statement 20 that addressed a number of issues common to all 21 nuclear power plants. The staff is supplementing that 22 generic environmental impact statement with a site-23 specific environmental impact statement, in which we 24 will address issues that are specific to the Cooper 25 Nuclear Station.
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17 1 The staff also re-examines the conclusions 2 reached in the generic environmental impact statement 3 to determine if there is any new and significant 4 information that would change those conclusions.
5 The scoping period started on January 6 2 6th, 2009, when the Notice of Intent to Prepare an 7 Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping was 8 published. The NRC will be accepting comments on the 9 scope of the environmental review until March 27, 10 2009. In general, we are looking for information 11 about environmental impacts from continued operation 12 of Cooper Nuclear Station during the extended 13 operation period. You can assist us in that process 14 by telling us, for example, what aspect of your local 15 community we should focus on, what local 16 environmental, social, and economic issues that the 17 NRC should examine during our environmental review, 18 and what reasonable alternatives are most appropriate 19 for your local regions. These are just some examples 20 of the input we are looking for and they represent the 21 kind of information we are seeking through the scoping 22 process. Your comments today would be helpful in 23 providing insight of this nature for the environmental 24 analysis.
25 This slide illustrates the NRC's various NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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18 1 considerations for deciding if a renewal operating 2 license will be issued. It's a rigorous review 3 involving safety advisory report, regional 4 inspections, and so on. Also, as indicated on this 5 slide, public comments are an important part of the 6 environmental review process. We consider all of the 7 comments that we receive from the public during the 8 scoping process as a part of preparing the 9 supplemental environmental impact statement.
10 In addition to providing comments at 11 today's meeting, there are other ways that you can 12 submit comments for environmental review. You can 13 provide written comments by mail to NRC Chief of Rules 14 and Directives Branch at the addresses provided on 15 this slide, which are listed on your handout, or you 16 can send your comments electronically to the e-mail 17 address shown on the slide. You can also make 18 comments in person, if you happen to be in Rockville, 19 Maryland. If you choose to do so, please contact 20 Manny Sayoc or myself in advance so that we can make 21 arrangements. Comments should be submitted by March 22 2 7 th, 2009.
23 This slide shows important dates for the 24 environmental review process. The opportunity to 25 submit contention for a hearing closes on March the NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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19 1 2 nd, 2009, and if you have comments you would like to 2 submit outside of today's meetings, you have until 3 March 27, 2009, to do so. Please note that we plan to 4 issue a draft supplemental environmental impact 5 statement for public comment on December 15, 2009.
6 While this slide lists the milestones for the 7 environmental review and opportunities for public 8 involvement, the safety review will also be performed 9 in accordance with the schedule listed at the NRC 10 website on the next slide.
11 This slide identifies the primary point of 12 contact within the NRC for license renewal of Cooper 13 Nuclear Station, project managers are Tam Tran, 14 myself, and Emmanuel Sayoc. It also identifies where 15 a document related to our review may be found in the 16 local area. The Auburn Memorial Library has agreed to 17 make the license renewal application available for 18 public review. When it is published for comment, the 19 draft supplemental environmental impact statement will 20 also be available at this library. In addition, these 21 documents will be on the NRC website at the web 22 address shown on the bottom of this slide.
23 As you came in, you were asked to fill out 24 a registration card at our reception table. If you 25 have included your address on that card, we will mail NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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20 1 a copy of the draft and the final environmental impact 2 statement to you for your information.
3 This concludes my presentation. I will 4 turn it over to our facilitator.
5 MR. PELTON: I'm not running away.
6 Thanks, Tam and Manny. What I just grabbed is a stack 7 of frequently asked questions related to license 8 renewal. And I know we brought a lot of paraphernalia 9 related to license renewal for you folks to please 10 take whatever you feel. The more you take, the less 11 we have to take back with us. But, frankly, that set 12 of FAQs, frequently asked questions, I think, not only 13 does it cover much of what you heard tonight, but it 14 also talks about, you know, why we do what we do, 15 where in our regulations does it give us authority to 16 renew a license. It talks about, you know, how we 17 handle a lot of matters that earlier tonight you heard 18 may or may not fall within the purview of license 19 renewal, such as emergency planning, security, the 20 long-term storage of waste off site. These things are 21 outside the scope of license renewal, but are very 22 well described as to what our bases for making those 23 kinds of decisions are, so I would say that that's a 24 great one-stop-shopping document and would encourage 25 each of you to take a copy. I find it to be a -- I NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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21 1 spent last night reviewing it, making sure I could 2 answer questions, just in case I got some tough 3 questions from the public. So, I recommend it highly.
4 Before we get into our public comment 5 section, I would like to just acknowledge a couple of 6 folks. Mary Zimmerman, I'd like to just say thank you 7 for helping set up the facility tonight and making it 8 available. It's that kind of help that, you know, 9 just makes our job so much easier and helps us really 10 fulfill our mission of being open and meeting with the 11 public.
12 You heard earlier that power plants have 13 resident inspectors, full-time inspectors who live in 14 your community and are assigned to the various power 15 plants full-time and for Cooper Station, we have Mike 16 Chambers here tonight, and I just wanted to take a 17 moment to acknowledge Mike. You know, it's -- Having 18 been a senior resident inspector myself, I can't 19 overemphasize, you know, how important I believe that 20 position is and the eyes and ears, the day-to-day 21 interface, the opportunity for the NRC to understand 22 that the way this licensee is operating their plant 23 certainly maintains the protection for the public and 24 the environment, so I just think that's a -- it's just 25 such an important job.
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22 1 I'd also like to introduce Victor Dricks 2 from our Arlington, Texas, office. Victor is a public 3 affairs officer who helps us communicate as best we 4 can with the public and vice versa. So, thanks for 5 coming tonight.
6 You know, earlier today, I tried to take 7 credit for the good weather, but, you know, I'm not 8 going to use that joke twice. But, if you're a golf 9 fan, Tiger Woods did win his round today.
10 (Laughter.)
11 For the public comment, we would ask that 12 you come up and use the microphone here. I hope folks 13 are comfortable using that. You know, it is somewhat 14 portable. We can move it if you prefer, but that's 15 where we'd like you to come up and make whatever 16 comment or statement you have. And if you bring with 17 you, you know, a document that you would like to 18 submit to the NRC, then, make sure you give a copy to 19 Manny, Tam, myself, or to Wendy so that we can make 20 sure that we attribute you to the comments and to that 21 document.
22 With that, we'd invite Robert Cole to come 23 up and make a statement.
24 ROBERT COLE 25 Thank you for the opportunity to speak NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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23 1 tonight. I'm Robert Cole. I'm the Nemaha County 2 Emergency Management Director. I wanted to make a few 3 short statements. I've already submitted a letter of 4 support on the relicensing application; however, I 5 wanted to touch on a few of the highlights that I 6 mentioned in the letter.
7 One of the great things about our 8 relationship with Cooper Nuclear Plant is that they 9 have been good partners for the communities that they 10 are neighbors to. One example of that would be the 11 fact that most of my day today was spent taking 12 delivery on sirens that Cooper Nuclear has donated for 13 several local communities in the area, both in 14 Nebraska and Missouri, that lacked operational or 15 modern sirens. These retired sirens from Cooper, 16 although they are dating back to the 1970s, are well 17 maintained and very functional and will certainly be 18 a vital asset to communities that could not otherwise 19 afford replacement of their siren equipment. That's 20 a real benefit to everybody.
21 Also, my relationship with Cooper has been 22 excellent. I correspond or talk to Cooper 23 representatives at least monthly, generally more 24 often, in regard to emergency planning exercises and 25 just day-to-day communications checks. Every time I NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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24 1 have talked to somebody from the station, they have 2 always been very professional and very competent, and 3 I have very great confidence in the plant and their 4 operations. It's a joy to be here in Nemaha County, 5 and one of that joys is serving the County in this 6 relationship to Cooper Nuclear. Thanks very much for 7 the opportunity to be here.
8 MR. PELTON: Thank you, Robert.
9 Rod Vandeberg.
10 ROD VANDEBERG 11 Good evening. I have prepared comments 12 which I'd be happy to give to you if you would like 13 them at the end of the meeting. I apologize. I maybe 14 have gotten a little bit too lengthy, but I'll try to 15 talk fast.
16 My name is Rod Vandeberg, and I am the 17 mayor of Falls City, Nebraska. Falls City is a 18 community of 4,200, and is located about 20 miles 19 south of Cooper Nuclear Station as you head toward the 20 Nebraska/Kansas border.
21 Interestingly, I personally had the 22 opportunity, along with 18 community members from 23 Falls City, to tour Cooper Nuclear Station last 24 Monday. I can speak for myself and the others who 25 took the tour that we were very impressed by the NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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25 1 serious and cordial manner in which NPPD employees 2 were watching out for our personal safety while we 3 were on tour, and also by the extent of the security 4 presence at the site. This opportunity gave us all a 5 little better first-hand look at Cooper Nuclear 6 Station, which many of us had not seen, but have heard 7 so much about over the years. Perhaps properly so, 8 Cooper is a well kept secret. And I would like to 9 take this opportunity to thank everyone who 10 participated with us in that tour. We had the 11 opportunity to hear from the gentleman who heads the 12 management company. And then we had the opportunity 13 to be with several NPPD employees. And it was really 14 an outstanding experience.
15 The impact of going inside such a facility 16 and seeing how well the facility is maintained and how 17 expansive the facility is, how it serves to protect 18 employees, public, and the environment was time well 19 spent. I want to thank NPPD for this opportunity.
20 Several months ago, I sat in a breakfast 21 meeting right here in this building in Auburn and 22 heard from your CEO, Ron Asche, and other NPPD 23 employees about the license renewal process, what the 24 needs for extending of licensing of Cooper for an 25 additional 20 years means, and what does that mean not NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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26 1 only for my community, but all of Nebraska. What I 2 learned is that NPPD has put an extensive amount of 3 money into facility improvements for safety and 4 operations of the facility so that it can be an 5 operation that will be able to operate safely and 6 efficiently for an additional 20 years. What I also 7 heard at that time was that replacing Cooper would 8 take several billion dollars to construct another 9 generating facility, probably using coal as fuel to 10 replace the electric generation of Cooper. Just 11 getting a facility sited may be a significant task, 12 and replacing Cooper with that kind of facility may 13 not be the most environmentally friendly one, as 14 Cooper does not generate any greenhouse gases from its 15 nuclear operations.
16 I realize that there are numerous areas 17 that are required to be reviewed by the U.S. Nuclear 18 Regulatory Commission related to the license renewal 19 application, many dealing with the environment, 20 another part on how equipment is expected to last if 21 Cooper Nuclear Station were to operate another 20 22 years. As I heard at our meeting in the fall, 23 Nebraska Public Power District's Board of Directors 24 has had the foresight to invest millions of dollars 25 into the operation in order to continue that operation NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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27 1 in a safe manner, and that is what we expect for the 2 residents of Falls City, Richardson County, and 3 southeast Nebraska.
4 Our community leaders in Falls City also 5 heard from NPPD, at my request, to tell us more about 6 the license renewal in a luncheon session in Falls 7 City two or three months ago. Many in the room that 8 day have had contact with Cooper employees, both 9 personal or for business reasons, for we have a 10 contingent of employees that reside in Falls City and 11 Richardson County, 101 employees to be exact.
12 From a socio-economic aspect, that number 13 is important in small communities such as Falls City.
14 Cooper employees do business in our community. They 15 are part of community activities, and they support our 16 schools and services. These individuals operate an 17 important electric generation for Nebraska, and they 18 do it safely in a nuclear operation. On our tour, we 19 were able to get a peek at a control room simulator 20 and what these highly trained employees must train to 21 do. The requirements are rigorous to meet the 22 requirements to become a licensed operator.
23 A loss of Cooper would cause a severe 24 negative impact on Falls City as would it be for all 25 of southeastern Nebraska.
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28 1 NPPD's CEO, Ron Asche, spoke to us last 2 year about several maintenance issues at the plant.
3 He could have easily passed over telling us that 4 information, but he chose to do so, and he expressed 5 confidence to us that NPPD would resolve these issues 6 to the satisfaction of the NRC and return Cooper to 7 the top level of operations for nuclear power plants 8 in the country. And as I have learned, those words 9 have been put into action and those findings have been 10 resolved. Frankly, I believe Cooper is one of the 11 safest nuclear plants in the United States.
12 I, and the members of the City Council of 13 Falls City, recently passed a unanimous resolution of 14 support for Cooper Nuclear Station's license extension 15 for an additional 20 years. We feel that it is an 16 important asset for southeast Nebraska and Nebraska in 17 general, and I would like for this resolution to be 18 included in the official meeting transcript tonight.
19 I want to thank the Nuclear Regulatory 20 Commission for taking the time to hear from 21 communities such as ours on this very important issue, 22 not only locally, but nationally, as we work towards 23 future energy independence. Thank you very much.
24 (Exhibit 1 was marked for identification.)
25 MR. PELTON: Thank you, Mayor Vandeberg.
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29 1 Larry Shepard.
2 LARRY SHEPARD 3 Good evening. Thank you, Dave. And I'd 4 like to thank the NRC. I'd also like to thank the 5 cities and counties of southeastern Nebraska for the 6 opportunity to attend this scoping meeting. My name 7 is Larry Shepard. I'm an environmental scientist with 8 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in our 9 Kansas City Regional Office. EPA has 10 regional 10 offices around the country. Our regional office is 11 responsible for EPA program activities in Kansas, 12 Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska. My point in speaking 13 tonight was just to help everyone tonight to 14 understand what EPA's role is in this process, this 15 relicensing process. EPA will be reviewing the Draft 16 Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and 17 providing comment, but also in actually scoring both 18 the document and the project itself. And we will 19 also, in addition to that, be providing comment --
20 scoping comment to NRC by the March 2 7 th deadline.
21 And that was really my whole purpose. If anyone has 22 any questions after the meeting, I'll be hanging 23 around also. Thank you very much.
24 MR. PELTON: Thank you, Larry.
25 Bob Engles.
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30 1 BOB ENGLES 2 Good evening. my name is Bob Engles, and 3 I'm the mayor of Auburn, Nebraska. I'd like to thank 4 the NRC for this opportunity and specifically for 5 holding this public forum.
6 As I was watching the NRC presentation, 7 safety review and environmental impact studies were 8 mentioned as key parts of the process. I trust that 9 both NPPD and the NRC will conduct a thorough process 10 to identify issues that must be addressed in these 11 areas so that Cooper Nuclear Station can continue 12 operating for an additional 20 years.
13 That's exactly why I'm here. I'm here in 14 support of extending the license for Nebraska Public 15 Power District's Cooper Nuclear Station. I'll speak 16 just a little bit about the socio-economic impact on 17 my city in particular. From a practical standpoint, 18 I'm not sure it makes sense to discard a proven and 19 effective method of power generation, especially when 20 it has served Auburn, Nemaha County, and the state of 21 Nebraska for so many years as a safe and reliable 22 source of electrical generation for the last 35 years 23 in a manner that has protected the public and the 24 environment.
25 Cooper Nuclear Station is an economic NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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31 1 stimulus to Auburn and southeast Nebraska. Their 2 footprint is a stabilizing factor in our community's 3 economy. For example, they employ approximately 720 4 people, and half of those people live in Nemaha 5 County; 234 of those people live in Auburn.
6 The plant's annual payroll is 7 approximately $55 million. Over $17 million of that 8 payroll goes to people that live in Auburn, and with 9 just a little bit of math, that shows that the average 10 income per employee living in Auburn is about $75, 000.
11 These employees are highly educated, highly trained 12 and skilled, and they do a quality job day in and day 13 out with safety as their prime responsibility.
14 Cooper employees have become a part of the 15 fabric of this community over the years. They live 16 here. They're involved in community activities.
17 They're involved in our churches; they frequent the 18 business community; they are involved in youth 19 activities and social events within our community.
20 These people are our friends. They're our 21 neighbors. Their kids attend our schools. They 22 volunteer their time to make Auburn and southeast 23 Nebraska a better place in which to live.
24 Late last year, following NPPD's submittal 25 of a license renewal application, Ron Asche, CEO and NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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32 1 President of NPPD, which owns Cooper, held a series of 2 meetings within the community with myself and other 3 elected officials from other communities and the 4 business community. Mr. Asche pointed out that NPPD's 5 Board of Directors has invested over $300 million in 6 improvements to Cooper in preparation for the license 7 extension. NPPD is serious about making these 8 improvements that will enhance the safety of the 9 operations, as well as continuing to generate low-cost 10 electricity, something that Nebraskans expect and 11 which NPPD is mandated under state law to do.
12 Several years ago, NPPD discussed the 13 possibility of closing Cooper. This community was 14 concerned about that, primarily because of the impact 15 on the economy of Auburn and southeast Nebraska.
16 Closing Cooper would have been unfortunate. But 17 NPPD's Board of Directors saw the value in keeping the 18 facility operating and have done a great job in moving 19 forward with the safe operations of the facility, 20 something that was expected to continue for another 20 21 years.
22 Indeed, all Nebraskans benefit from the 23 operation of Cooper Nuclear Station. Auburn has 24 benefited from Cooper's operations directly, even 25 though the plant is 10 miles away. Nebraska Public NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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33 1 Power District has two facilities in our community 2 that we believe are important for the operations of 3 the site. The former Sheridan Elementary School has 4 been transformed into a training center for Cooper 5 employees and the many contractors who come into the 6 community every 18 months for refueling outages. We 7 believe that the training facility plays a great part 8 of the strong environmental responsibility and safe 9 operations of the facility each day.
10 A second facility was remodeled in our 11 downtown area and houses a state-of-the-art Emergency 12 Operations Center which would operate as needed.
13 Exercises are held on a regular basis from that 14 facility, including ones with local emergency 15 management personnel from southeast Nebraska.
16 As mayor, I'm confident in the ability of 17 NPPD to operate and manage in a safe manner. What we 18 may hear from people that are concerned about safety 19 issues, we can all be concerned about safety issues.
20 But throughout the years, I've come to know that the 21 people at Cooper and NPPD have confidence and that 22 they understand the risks associated with nuclear 23 power generation and that they have been and continue 24 to do everything in their power to ensure my safety 25 and our community's safety, because the same people NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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34 1 that are working at NPPD Cooper Nuclear Station live 2 in Auburn. They live in Brownville, Nemaha County, 3 Falls City, and Nebraska City.
4 And at this time, I'd like to introduce 5 into the formal record a resolution that our City 6 Council passed a while back unanimously approving 7 support for the extension of the Cooper Nuclear 8 Station license.
9 And once again, I'd like to thank the NRC 10 for hosting these meetings in our community, and if 11 there's anything our town can do to help you further 12 this process, please do not hesitate to contact us.
13 Thank you.
14 (Exhibit 2 was marked for identification.)
15 MR. PELTON: Thank you, Mayor.
16 Kendall Nieman.
17 KENDALL NEIMAN 18 Good evening. My name is Kendall Neiman 19 and I'm President of Auburn Chamber of Commerce, and 20 also the publisher of the Nemaha County Herald, the 21 local weekly newspaper here. On behalf of the Auburn 22 Chamber of Commerce, I'm expressing full support for 23 the Nebraska Public Power District's application to 24 extend the Cooper Nuclear Station for an additional 20 25 years.
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35 1 We believe that Cooper's safety and 2 performance speaks for NPPD's expertise in nuclear 3 plant operations. Several years ago, it appeared that 4 NPPD might close down the Cooper Nuclear Station.
5 This was something that southeastern Nebraska could 6 not afford to have happen. A community group had an 7 economic study done that gave us a look at what we 8 could see locally if the facility was closed. That 9 was about six years ago, and that picture was not very 10 pretty. Devastating might be a better word. if 11 Cooper Nuclear were not to continue operating after 12 its current license expires, we could see those 13 impacts all over southeastern Nebraska.
14 Over 700 employees live, work, shop, and 15 are involved in the communities in southeastern 16 Nebraska. A majority of these employees live right 17 here in Auburn and Nemaha County. They are 18 contributors to the community, but they are also 19 workers at the nuclear power plant that emphasizes 20 nuclear safety of all as a top priority.
21 1 recently attended an open house held by 22 NPPD in the Cooper Nuclear facility and was able to 23 learn more about the license extension, safety, 24 emergency response, and other operations of the 25 facility. It's very complex, but I found that the NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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36 1 people that I talked to to be very knowledgeable and 2 they were concerned with safety of the operations, but 3 they were very proud of what they do on a daily basis.
4 It is our hope that the Nuclear Regulatory 5 Commission's review of the license application will be 6 thorough in both the environmental review as well as 7 the safety review of the Cooper Nuclear Station as 8 required for license renewal. We believe that NPPD 9 has done an excellent job in the operation of the 10 facility as they have turned out a record generation 11 year in 2007, have maintained a strong safety culture 12 for the safety of the employees and the public, and 13 maintained a high visible emergency response operation 14 with local governments and continue to watch over a 15 reliable generating source of electricity for 16 Nebraskans with a watchful eye. The Auburn Chamber 17 of Commerce supports this license renewal extension 18 and look forward to the Nuclear Regulatory 19 Commission's review of the facility and seeing a 20-20 year extension added to the existing license of the 21 facility. Again, thank you for coming to Auburn and 22 giving the community an opportunity to be heard.
23 MR. PELTON: Thank you, Kendall.
24 David Sickel.
25 DAVID SICKEL NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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37 1 my name is David Sickel. I'm one of the 2 three County Commissioners from Richardson County.
3 I'm pleased to have the opportunity to speak to the 4 Nuclear Regulatory Commission concerning the extension 5 of the Cooper Nuclear Station's license for an 6 additional 20 years.
7 WNhile Richardson County may be somewhat 8 outside the influence of Cooper Nuclear Station's 9 operations, it is important to acknowledge that over 10 the years this facility has been able to operate in a 11 safe and effective manner for the residents of 12 Nebraska. It is important that a complete review of 13 the environmental impacts for 20 more years of 14 operation be studied thoroughly by both the Nebraska 15 Public Power District and the Nuclear Regulatory 16 Commission.
17 As I understand another critical phase is 18 a safety review. Again, this is important this type 19 of review be conducted to ensure that equipment at the 20 facility can operate an additional 20 years without 21 having the impact on employee and public safety. The 22 fact that much of this information is available to the 23 public and can have public involvement is an important 24 aspect of the entire process.
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38 1 part of our community. It operates safely. The 2 employees at Cooper are highly trained. Cooper 3 generates a reliable source of electricity for the 4 people of the state of Nebraska. Employees reside in 5 communities such as Richardson County. Over the 6 years, the presence of Cooper employees in southeast 7 Nebraska has been an important part of our economy, 8 our schools, or business community, and the community 9 in which these folks live. The impact on this area 10 from the loss of Cooper operations would create an 11 economic hardship when you consider those losses.
12 That loss would impact Richardson County, southeast 13 Nebraska, and the complete state of Nebraska.
14 on behalf of the citizens of Richardson 15 County, we are in support of the extension of the 16 Cooper Nuclear Station's license renewal for an 17 additional 20 years.
18 In a letter that I wrote to NPPD's CEO and 19 President, Ron Asche, I explained that Richardson 20 County was proud to have Cooper Nuclear Station in the 21 Richardson County area. Cooper Nuclear Station 22 clearly demonstrated its ability to provide safe and 23 reliable electricity for citizens of Nebraska. I 24 would like to mention that as the only public power 25 state in the country, we enjoy having the fifth lowest NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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39 1 cost electricity rates in the United States.
2 Richardson County, through its Emergency Management 3 has supported the facility in its off-site 4 responsibilities to protect the public for many years, 5 and we are glad to be part of that team that supports 6 Cooper and nuclear power.
7 Thank you for this opportunity to speak to 8 you this evening.
9 MR. PELTON: Thank you, David.
10 Ron Asche.
11 RON ASCHE 12 I'm Ron Asche, the President and CEO of 13 Nebraska Public Power District, the owner and operator 14 of Cooper Nuclear Station. We began our process of 15 compiling our license renewal application several 16 years ago, and submitted that to the NRC in September 17 of this past year. These public meetings tonight 18 conducted by the NRC are a very important process in 19 that relicensing process. They provide an opportunity 20 for members of the local communities that surround 21 Cooper Station and for other interested stakeholders 22 to provide input directly to the NRC regarding our 23 license application and any issues that they may have 24 regarding the environmental impacts of extending 25 Cooper's license for another 20 years, as well as any NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
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40 1 public safety issues that they may have.
2 And I'd like to thank all of those that 3 came this evening to express their comments to the 4 Nuclear Regulatory Commission, both in these meetings 5 today and for comments that you might submit via 6 letter or e-mail, et cetera. These are a very 7 important part of that process.
8 I want to close just by saying that NPPD 9 is committed to operating Cooper Station, both now and 10 in the future, in a manner that protects the health 11 and safety of the public and all of our employees and 12 workers at the plant, as well as protecting the 13 environment. We look forward to working together with 14 the NRC over the course of the next several years in 15 addressing issues that may arise, which we hope will 16 ultimately result in an extension of our license for 17 another 20 years to operate Cooper Station and 18 continue to provide low cost, reliable, and safe 19 energy to the members of our communities and the state 20 of Nebraska as a whole. Thank you.
21 MR. PELTON: Thank you, Ron.
22 Is there anyone else who would like to 23 make any kind of a comment or statement toninght?
24 (No response.)
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41 1 to everyone for coming out tonight. We really 2 appreciate it. You've heard it again and again how 3 important the public's view is on our process of 4 license renewal, but all of our processes. So, we 5 just really appreciate the fact that you took time out 6 of your day to come share your views on the renewal of 7 the license at Cooper.
8 I'd also like to just quickly thank the 9 City of Auburn for welcoming us here today, and the 10 Auburn Senior Center for making your facility 11 available to us today to support this important 12 meeting. So thanks for that.
13 We are going to be available after this 14 meeting, you know, for any other questions or comments 15 you may have that you just want to ask us 16 individually. We'll be here for a while. And I just 17 want to again thank you for everything and have a 18 great night.
19 (Exhibit 3 was marked for identification.)
20 (Whereupon, at 7:54 p.m., on February 21 25, 2009, the public meeting was concluded.)
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CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the attached proceedings before the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the matter of: Cooper Nuclear Station License Renewal Name of Proceeding: Public Meeting, Evening Docket Number: (n/a)
Location: Auburn, Nebraska were held as herein appears, and that this is the original transcript thereof for the file of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission taken by me and, thereafter reduced to typewriting by me or under the direction of the court reporting company, and that the transcript is a true and accurate record of the foregoing proceedings.
Wendy Ctn Official Reporter Neal R. Gross & Co., Inc.
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Resolution No.
Resolution Supporting Nebraska Public Power District's Cooper Nuclear Station License Renewal WHEREAS, Nebraska Public Power District's Cooper Nuclear Station in Brownville became operational with startup in 1974 and has submitted an application to renew Cooper Nuclear Station's operating license to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission on September 29, 2008; and WHEREAS, Cooper Nuclear Station has operated safely and efficiently for more than 30 years, its generation of electricity remains vital to Nebraska's economy; and WHEREAS, Cooper Nuclear Station is a critical asset as part of Nebraska Public Power District's generation resources and the state's unique. public power system, continues to assist in keeping state electric rates among the lowest in the country; and WHEREAS, Nebraska Public Power District has continually reinvested in the Cooper Nuclear Station facility to assure continued safe, clean, reliable and affordable production of electricity for Nebraskans across the state; and WHEREAS, more than 700 permanent jobs at Cooper Nuclear Station and the extensive use of contractors for ongoing maintenance and refueling outages are recognized as vitally important to the economies of the City of Falls City, Richardson County, and surrounding communities of southeastern Nebraska; and WHEREAS, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission is the federal agency charged with oversight of our nation's vital nuclear facilities and encourages public input and comment on license renewal proceedings from its neighboring communities; and WHEREAS, Cooper Nuclear Station has been a good neighbor to its communities for more than three decades, approximately 14% of its workforce lives in the Falls City, area play key community roles in Falls City and other southeastern Nebraska communities; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Falls City City Council supports the renewal of the license for the nuclear generating facilities at Cooper Nuclear Station, to assure their continued operation of safe, affordable and integrally important component of Nebraska's public power electric power supply system for another 20 years; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Falls City City Clerk is directed to make available a copy of this resolution to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission at. its upcofining Environmental Scoping Public meeting.
Dated this day of February 2009 ATTESTED:
City erk EHIBIT.
ROD VANDEBERG Rod Vandeberg f=. Falls City, Nebraska. 'T- AvtrlbeaT*igs- staight, Falls City is located abdut 20 miles south of Cooper Nuclear Station as you head towards the Nebraska- Kansas border..
I had the great opportunity, along with community members from Ue Falls City to tour Cooper Nuclear StatiorY'Monday. I can speak for myself and nm*ry .-
others who took the tour that we werE(i ressed by the seriousneo manner Ib which NPPD employees were watching out for our personal safety while we were on tour, and also by the extent of the security presence at the site. This opportunity gave us all a little better firsthand look at Cooper Nuclear Station, which many of us have/peen ea So-l*t,4-_about over the years. *e)6 ,z Z,..__
The impact of going inside such a facility and seeing how well the facility is maintained and how expansive the facility is, how it serves to protect employees, public and the environment was time well spent. I want to thank NPPD for this feat opportunity.t~et wowl Several months ago,l sat in a breakfast meeting and heard about the license renewal process"what the needs for extending licensing of Cooper for an additional 20 years means, and what does that mean not only for/=-Gty, but 411 of Nebraska. What I learned was that NPPD has put an extensive amount of money into facility 1
improvements for safety and operations of the facility so that it can be an operation that will be able to operate safely and efficiently for an additional 20 years. What I did4e;er at the time was that replacing Cooper would take several billion dollars to construct another generating facility, probably using coal as a,-fuel, to replace the electric generation of Cooper. Just getting a facility sited may be a significant task. And replacing Cooper with that kind of facility may not be the most environmentally friendly one as Cooper does not generate any greenhouse gases from its nuclear operations.
I realize that there are numerous areas that are required to be reviewed at by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission related to the license renewal application, Many dealing with the environment, another part on how equipment is expected to last if Cooper Nuclear Station were to operate another 20 years. As I heard at our meeting in the fall, Nebraska Public Power District's Board of Directors has had the foresight to invest millions of dollars into the operation in order to continue that operation in a safe manner.4Th' what we expect for the residents of Falls City, Richardson County, and southeast Nebraska!- ne#ii-tss.
Our community leaders in falls City also heard from NPPD, at my request, to tell us more about the license renewal in a lunchs#ession in Falls City. Many in the room that day have had contact with Cooper employees - both personal or for business reasons, for we have a contingent of employees that reside in Falls City and Richardson County
- 101 employees to be exact.
2
From a socio-economic aspect that number is important in small communities such as Falls City. Cooper employees do business in our community, they are part of community activities, and they support our schools.#-hese individuals operate an important electric generation for Nebraska and they do it safely in a nuclear operation. On our tour we were able to get a peak at a control room simulator and what these highly-trained employees must train to do. The requirements are rigorous to meet the requirements to become a licensed operator..
A loss of Cooper would be-an impact on Falls City as would it be for all of southeastern Nebraska.
NPPD's CEO spoke to us last year about several maintenance issues at the plant. He could have easily passed over telling us that information)but he chose to do so and Ie-1*ad confidence that NPPD would resolve these fi0i4i4s to the satisfaction of the NRC and return Cooper to the top level of operations for nuclear power plants in the country. And as I have learned, those words have been put into action and those findings have been resolved. ' ( k 6&7 ..
- I and the members of the Falls City Cmtnifl recently passed a4esolution of support for Cooper Nuclear Station's " " " for an additional 20 years. We feel that it is an important asset for southeast Nebraska and Nebraska in general and I would like for this resolution to be included in the official meeting transcript.
3
11" ý 0 .
I want to thank the Nuclear Reulatory Commission for taking the time to hear from communities such as ours on pa very important issue, not only locally, but nati6nallyps we work towards future energy independence.
Thank you.
4
FIVE RIVERS RC&D INC.
'140N. 4 St., P.O. Box 626, Tecumseh, NE 68450 Phone (402) 335-3347 Fax (402) 335-3450 RC&D, INC.,
RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT FOR GAGE, JEFFERSON, JOHNSON, NEMAHA, OTOE, PAWNEE, RICHARDSON & SALINE COUNTIE S February 23, 2009 Chief, Rulemaking Directives and Editing Branch Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration'.
Mailstop T-6D59 q U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission d Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 To Whom It May Concern:
The Five Rivers Resource Conservation and Development, Inc' is submitting this letter to support the renewal of the license for Cooper Nuclear Station operated by Nebraska Public Power in southeast Nebraska.
Our group recognizes the importance of the Station in providing low cost and safe energy to our region. We can assure any potential business that,the Station is committed to safety through its safe operations for the past 40 years and the investment of $300 million to upgrade the facility. Their trained workforce has a strong economic impact on our area. We feel this -facility does not create a negative impact to the environment.
We urge you to approve the license renewal so we will. cntinue to have good, clean, green energy for years to come.
Sincerely, Alan Richard President, Five Rivers RC&D, Inc
- EXHIBIT*
An Equal .Opportuni"v Pio ,ide!r .& Employer
Resolution No. 3-09 Resolution Supporting Nebraska Public Power District's Cooper Nuclear Station License Renewal WHEREAS, Nebraska Public Power District's Cooper Nuclear Station in Brownville became operational with startup in 1974; and WHEREAS, Cooper Nuclear Station has operated safely and efficiently for more than 30 years, generated a record 6.6 million megawatt hours of electricity in 2007, and its 828 megawatts of electrical generating capacity remains vital to Nebraska's economy; and WHEREAS, Nebraska Public Power District has continually reinvested in the Cooper Nuclear Station facility to assure continued safe, clean, reliable and affordable production of electricity for Nebraskans across the state; and WHEREAS, Cooper Nuclear Station is a critical asset as part of Nebraska Public Power District's generation resources and the state's unique public power system, continues to assist in keeping state electric rates among the lowest in the country; and WHEREAS, more than 700 permanent jobs at Cooper Nuclear Station and the extensive use of contractors for ongoing maintenance and refueling outages are recognized as vitally important to the economies of the City of Auburn, Nemaha County, and surrounding communities of southeastern Nebraska; and WHEREAS, Nebraska Public Power District submitted an application to renew Cooper Nuclear Station's operating license to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission on September 29, 2008; and WHEREAS, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission is the federal agency charged with oversight of our nation's vital nuclear facilities and encourages public input and comment on license renewal proceedings from its neighboring communities; and WHEREAS, Cooper Nuclear Station has been a good neighbor to its communities for more than three decades and its employees are interwoven into the fabric of the community, local schools churches, and community activities; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Auburn City Council supports the renewal of the license for the nuclear generating facilities at Cooper Nuclear Station, to assure their continued operation of safe, affordable and integrally important component of Nebraska's public power electric power supply system for another 20 years; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Auburn City Clerk is directed to make available a copy of this resolution to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission at its upcoming Environmental Scoping Public meeting.
Passed and approved this 26th day of January 21 City Clerk of the City of Auburn, Nebraska
BOB ENGLES My name is Bob Engles and I am the Mayor of Auburn, Nebraska. I'd like to thank the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for this opportunity and specifically for holding this public forum.
As I was watching the NRC presentation, safety review and environmental impact studies were mentioned as key parts of the process. I trust that both NPPD and the NRC' lIcduct a thorough process to identify issues that must be addressed~r* tese areaso that Cooper Nuclear Station can continue operating for an additional 20 years.
That's exactly why I'm here. I'm here in support of extending the license for the Nebraska Public Power District's Cooper Nuclear Station. I'll speak just a little bit about the socioeconomic impact on my city, in particular. From a practical standpoint,I I'm not sure it makes sense to discard a proven and effective method of power generation,-,
especially when it has served Auburn, Nemaha County, and the state Nebraska for so many years as a safe and reliable source of electric generation for the past 35 years in a manner that has protected the public and environment.
Cooper Nuclear Station is an economic stimulus to Auburn and southeastern Nebraska.
Their footprint is a stabilizing factor in our community's economy. As a6n example, ithey employ approximately 720 people; half of those live in Nemaha County; 234 employees live in Auburn.
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The plant's annual payroll is $55 million, over $17 million is the payroll for those employees that live in Auburn and with just a very little bit of math that shows the average income per employee living in Auburn is $75,860. These employees are highly educated, highly trained and skilled and they do a quality job day in and day out with safety as their prime responsibility.
Cooper employees have become part of the fabric of this community over the years..
They live here, they are involved in community activities, our churches; they frequent the business community, they are involved in youth activities and social events within the community.
These people are our friends. They're our neighbors. Their kids attend our schools...
They volunteer their time to make Auburn and Nebraska a better place to live.
Late last year following NPPD's submittal of a license renewal application, Ron Asche, CEO and President of NPPD, which owns Cooper, held a series of meetings within the community with myself, other elected officials from other communities, and the business commu-nity. Mr. Asche pointed out that NPPD's Board of Directors has invested over
$300 million in improvements to Cooper in preparation for the license extension. NPPD is serious about making these improvements that will enhance the safety of the operations, as well as continuing to generate low cost electricity, something that Nebraskans expect and which NPPD is mandated under state law to do.
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Several years ago NPPD discussed the possibility of closing Cooper. This community was concerned about that, primary because of the impact on the economy of southeastern Nebraska. Closing Cooper would have been unfortunate. But NPPD's Board of Directors saw value in keeping the facility operating and have done a great job in moving forward with the safe operations of the facility, something that we expect to continue for another 20 years.
Indeed, all Nebraskans benefit from the operation of the Cooper Nuclear Station.
Auburn has benefited from Cooper's operations directly, even though the plant is 10 miles away. Nebraska Public Power District has two facilities in the community that we believe are important for the operations of the site. The former Sheridan Elementary School has been transformed into a training center for Cooper employees and the many contractors who come into the community every 18 months for refueling outages. We believe that the training facility plays a great part of the strong environmental responsibility and safe operations of the facility each day.
A second facility was remodeled in our downtown area and houses a state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Center that would operate as needed. Exercises are held on a regular basis from that facility including ones with local emergency management personnel from southeastern Nebraska.
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As Mayor, I'm confident in the abiliof NPPD to operate and manage Cooper in a safe manner. ' people that are concerned about safety issues and so am I. Throughout the years though, I've come to know the people at Cooper and NPPD and I have confidence that they understand the risks associated with nuclear power generation and that they've been and continue to do everything in their power to ensure my safety. You see, at the same time they're ensuring the safety of their families because they live in Auburn, Brownville, Nemaha County, Falls City, and Nebraska City too.
At this time I would like to introduce into the formal record a resolution of support for license extension for Cooper that was approved by the Auburn City Council.
With that, I'd like to thank the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for hosting these meetings in our community. Thank you.
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COUNTY COMMISSIONERS - RICHARDSON COUNTY Good tn/evening. My name is jamee-Ssfried , County Commissioner for Richardson. County. I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission concerning the extension of the Cooper Nuclear Station's license for an additional 20 years.
While Richardson County may be somewhat outside the influence of Cooper Nuclear Station's operations, it is important to acknowledge that over the years this facility has been able to operate in a safe and effective manner for the residents of Nebraska. It is important that a complete review of the environmental impacts for 20 more years of operation be studied thoroughly by both Nebraska Public Power District, and by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
As I understand another critical phase is a Safety Review. Again this is important this type of review be conducted to ensure that equipment at the facility can operate an additional 20 years without having an impact on employee and public safety. The fact that much of this information is available to the public and can have public involvement is an important aspect of the entire process.
Cooper Nuclear Station is an important part of our community. It operates safely. The employees at Cooper are highly trained. Cooper generates a reliable source of electricity for the people of the state of Nebraska. Employees reside in communities such as Richardson County. Over the years, the presence of Cooper employees in
southeast Nebraska has been an important part of our economy, our schools, our business community, and the communities in which these folks live. The impact on this area from the loss of Cooper's operations would create an economic hardship when you consider those losses. That loss would impact Richardson County.
Southeast Nebraska and the state of Nebraska On behalf of the citizens of Richardson County, we are in support of the extension of the Cooper Nuclear Station's license renewal for an additional 20 years.
In a letter I wrote to NPPD's CEO and President Ron Asche, I explained that Richardson County was proud to have Cooper Nuclear Station in the Richardson County area. Cooper Nuclear Station clearly demonstrated its ability to provide safe and reliable electricity for the citizens of Nebraska. I would like to mention that as the only all public power state in the country, we enjoy having the fifth lowest cost electricity rates in the United States. Richardson County, though its Emergency Management Office, has supported the facility in its offsite responsibilities to protect the public for many years and we are glad to be part of the team supports Cooper and nuclear power.
Thank you for this opportunity to speak to you today.