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NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001

E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov

No.10-051 March 25, 2010

NRC ISSUES FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

FOR NORTH ANNA NEW REACTOR APPLICATION

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has completed its Final Supplemental Environmental

Impact Statement (FSEIS) for the proposed North Anna Unit 3 reactor and concludes that there are

no environmental impacts that would preclude issuing a Combined License (COL) for construction

and operation of the proposed reactor at the site, near Mineral, Va.

In applying for the COL, Dominion Virginia Power referenced the North Anna Early Site

Permit (ESP) the NRC issued in November 2007. In order to supplement the ESP's environmental

findings, the NRC started its review with a public meeting near the plant in April 2008. The staff

considered comments from members of the public, local officials, and representatives of state and

federal agencies before issuing a draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) in

December 2008. The staff held an additional public meeting in February 2009 to gather comments

on the draft SEIS.

Dominion submitted its COL application Nov. 27, 2007, seeking approval to build and

operate an Economic and Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) at the site, approximately 40

miles northwest of Richmond. The ESBWR is a 1,500 MWe design currently under NRC review for

possible certification. The agency expects to complete its ESBWR review in late 2011. The staff

will consider any findings concerning the design in reviewing the North Anna application.

Information on the ESBWR application is available on the NRC Web site at:

The NRCs publishing of the FSEIS is only part of the overall North Anna COL review. The

agency staff continues to compile its final safety evaluation report, incorporating recommendations

from the NRCs Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards. The final report is expected in early

2011, followed by a mandatory hearing by the NRCs Atomic Safety and Licensing Board and then

a final agency decision.

The North Anna Unit 3 FSEIS is available on the NRCs Web site at this address:

entering accession number ML100680117 in the search window. The FSEIS is also available for

review at the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library in Mineral; the Hanover Branch Library

(Pamunkey) in Hanover, Va.; the Orange County Library in Orange, Va.; the Salem Church Library

in Fredericksburg, Va.; and the C. Melvin Snow Memorial Branch Library in Spotsylvania, Va.

News releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address:

http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE

link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web site.

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