ML15089A580
| ML15089A580 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | LaSalle  |
| Issue date: | 03/10/2015 |
| From: | License Renewal Projects Branch 2 |
| To: | |
| References | |
| NRC-1423 | |
| Download: ML15089A580 (56) | |
Text
Official Transcript of Proceedings NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Title:
Public Meeting RE License Renewal Application of LaSalle, Units 1 and 2: Evening Session Docket Number:
50-373 and 50-374 Location:
Ottawa, Illinois Date:
Tuesday, March 10, 2015 Work Order No.:
NRC-1423 Pages 1-55 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 PUBLIC MEETING RE 4
LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION FOR 5
LASALLE, UNITS 1 AND 2 6
EVENING SESSION 7
+ + + + +
8 TUESDAY 9
MARCH 10, 2015 10
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11 LASALLE COUNTY EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER 12 711 EAST ETNA ROAD 13 OTTAWA, ILLINOIS 14
+ + + + +
15 The above-entitled matter commenced at 16 7:00 p.m., pursuant to Notice, before David Drucker, 17 Senior Project Manager.
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
2 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 PRESENT:
1 NRC STAFF 2
Bob Hagar, Facilitator 3
Region IV - Division of Reactor Projects 4
1600 E. Lamar Blvd.
5 Arlington, Texas 76011-4511 6
(817) 200-1546 7
8 Jeffrey Mitchell, Project Manager 9
David Drucker, Senior Project Manager 10 Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 11 Division of License Renewal 12 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 13 Washington, DC 20555 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 P R O C E E D I N G S 1
(7:00 p.m.)
2 MR. HAGAR: Good evening to everybody.
3 Thanks for showing up. My name is Bob Hagar, I'm a 4
member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commissions meeting 5
facilitation corps. And my role in this meeting has 6
really three parts. One is, I'm going to try to keep 7
us, have the meeting run smoothly. And second, I'm 8
going to make sure that everybody who has something to 9
say in this meeting has a chance to say it. And I'm 10 going to try to keep us on schedule.
11 So with that, I'm going to cover a few 12 details about this meeting that I think you need to know.
13 First of all, I think everyone knows that Exelon has 14 applied to renew the LaSalle County Station operating 15 licenses for both units. The NRC is reviewing that 16 application. As part of that review, they're going to 17 review the environmental impacts of a license renewal.
18 And the NRC wants input from you to help focus that 19 review.
20 So this meeting is going to have three 21 parts. The introduction is what we're doing right now.
22 As soon as we're done with this, the NRC will give a 23 presentation. First, a member of the NRC staff will 24 introduce the other members of the NRC staff. And then 25
4 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 they'll give a presentation that describes the license 1
renewal process with a focus on the safety reviews and 2
the environmental reviews, and the public's role in 3
those reviews.
4 Then we'll do, part three of this meeting 5
is going to be question and answers about the 6
presentation materials. Because we want to insure that 7
everyone here understands what the NRC told you in the 8
presentation.
9 And then finally, we'll have public 10 comments. This is where the NRC staff is asking the 11 public for information to help them focus their 12 environmental reviews.
13 Now, we're having this meeting recorded 14 because the NRC has to produce a transcript of this 15 meeting to be a public record. In order for the 16 transcript to be complete and accurate, the recording 17 has to be complete. So we got, and to insure that the 18 recording is complete, we have to establish some ground 19 rules.
20 First of all, if you're going to speak in 21 this meeting, you need to speak into a microphone. And 22 we'll make sure you do that, and I'll tell you how we'll 23 do that when we get to that part. The first time you 24 speak we'll want you to identify yourself, and if you 25
5 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 represent a group, please identify the group you 1
represent. If your name is somewhat unusual, or if your 2
name has an unusual spelling, we'd like you to also spell 3
your name. And I appreciate you doing that.
4 We want to minimize any background noise.
5 So please avoid any conversations off to the side.
6 Because if the recording picks up two people speaking 7
at the same time, we can't tell what either one of them 8
is saying. And we want the recording to be complete and 9
accurate.
10 And finally, if you haven't already, please 11 silence your personal electronics. Silence your cell 12 phone in particular. Now I recognize you can't, some 13 of you can't afford to disconnect yourself from the rest 14 of the world during this meeting. So, and so you'll 15 need to leave your phones on, if you do, just please 16 leave it on silent. And if you get a call, please step 17 out into the hallway to take that call, so that no part 18 of your personal conversation becomes part of the 19 record.
20 Any questions about the ground rules?
21 Okay, I'm going to turn the meeting now over to Jeff 22 Mitchell. He's going to introduce the NRC staff and 23 he's going, he'll start off the NRC presentation.
24 When that's done I'll come back and we'll 25
6 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 talk about the questions and answers.
1 MR. MITCHELL: The passing of the 2
microphone. Okay. Good evening, my name is Jeff 3
Mitchell. I'm the Safety Project Manager in the 4
Division of License Renewal, and I'm coordinating the 5
staff's review associated with the LaSalle County 6
Station license renewal application. Thank you all for 7
taking the time to come to this meeting this evening and 8
I saw many of you who came this afternoon as well.
9 I'd like to introduce the following Nuclear 10 Regulatory Commission representatives in attendance 11 this evening to support this meeting.
12 Chris Miller is the Director of the 13 Division of License Renewal. Brian Wittick is the 14 Branch Chief in the Division of License Renewal. David 15 Drucker is the Environmental Project Manager. Rob 16 Ruiz, who is not able to be here this evening is the 17 Senior Resident Inspector at LaSalle. John Robbins is 18 the Resident Inspector at LaSalle. Also, from the 19 Region, Mike Kunowski is the Branch Chief with LaSalle, 20 amongst several other plants. Harral Logaras is the 21 liaison for the local government. And Stu Sheldon is 22 the Regional Inspector that will be performing some of 23 the inspections at the plant.
24 Tonight we'll provide an overview of the 25
7 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 license renewal review process which includes both a 1
safety review and an environmental review. We'll 2
describe ways in which the public can participate in the 3
LaSalle license renewal process. I'd like to reiterate 4
that the most important part of tonight's meeting is to 5
receive any comments that you might have on the scope 6
of the environmental review. We will also give you some 7
information about how you can submit comments if you 8
prefer not to speak at this meeting.
9 I hope the information we provide will help 10 you understand the license renewal review process and 11 the role you all can have in this process.
12 All right. You'd think I'd be able to do 13 this better. Before I get into the discussion of the 14 license renewal process, I'd like to take a minute to 15 talk about the NRC in terms of what we do and what our 16 mission is.
17 The NRC is a Federal agency that regulates 18 the civilian use of nuclear material. The Atomic 19 Energy Act authorizes the NRC to grant a 40 year 20 operating license for nuclear power reactors. I'd like 21 to highlight that this 40 year term was based primarily 22 on economic considerations and anti-trust factors, not 23 on safety or technical limitations. The Atomic Energy 24 Act also allows for license renewal.
25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 The National Environmental Policy Act of 1
1969 or NEPA, established a national policy for 2
considering the impact of federal decision making on the 3
human environment. David Drucker will discuss NEPA in 4
greater detail later in this briefing.
5 The NRC's mission is three-fold. To 6
insure adequate protection of public health and safety.
7 To promote the common defense and security. And to 8
protect the environment. The NRC accomplishes its 9
mission through a combination of regulatory programs 10 and processes, such as establishing rules and 11 regulations, conducting inspections, issuing 12 enforcement actions, assessing licensee performance.
13 We also evaluate operating experience from 14 nuclear plants across the country and internationally 15 as well. The NRC has resident inspectors at all 16 operating nuclear power plants. That's Rob Ruiz and 17 John Robbins. These inspectors are considered the eyes 18 and ears of the NRC. They carry out our safety mission 19 on a daily basis and are on the front lines of insuring 20 acceptable safety performance and compliance with 21 regulatory requirements.
22 Next slide, please.
23 The NRC received Exelon's application for 24 license renewal for the LaSalle plant on December 9, 25
9 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 2014, requesting an additional 20 years of operation.
1 The current operating licenses for LaSalle Units 1 and 2
2, expire in 2022, and 2023 respectively. Licensees 3
can submit an application for license renewal after they 4
have operated for 20 years. The NRC has determined 5
that 20 years of operation provides enough information 6
for the staff to make an informed decision on license 7
renewal.
8 The first step of the license renewal 9
process is to perform an acceptance and sufficiency 10 review of the application. The purpose of this review 11 is to determine if the applicant has provided the 12 required information. The required information 13 includes one, technical information about plant 14 structures and components and how the applicant 15 proposes to manage the aging of the structures and 16 components.
17 Two, technical specifications that define 18 the operating parameters of the plant. The application 19 indicates if any changes or additions to technical 20 specification are necessary to manage the affects of 21 aging during the period of extended operation.
22 The applicant also includes an 23 environmental report which is the applicant's 24 assessment of the environmental impact of continued 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 operation. If the application has the required 1
information, it is considered acceptable, and the NRC 2
staff will perform a full review. And we have 3
considered, we have performed the acceptance review and 4
have accepted the application.
5 This flowchart highlights the license 6
renewal, highlights that the license renewal process 7
involves two parallel reviews, the safety review and the 8
environmental review. These two reviews evaluate 9
separate aspects of the license renewal application.
10 It also features three other considerations in the 11 Commission's decision of whether or not to renew an 12 operating license.
13 One of these considerations is the 14 independent review performed by the Advisory Committee 15 on Reactor Safeguards, commonly referred to by its 16 acronym, the ACRS. Statutorily mandated by the Atomic 17 Energy Act of 1954, the ACRS is a group of scientists 18 and nuclear safety experts who serve as a consulting 19 body to the Commission.
20 The ACRS reviews the license renewal 21 application, the NRC staff's safety evaluation and 22 inspection findings. The ACRS reports their findings 23 and recommendations directly to the Commission.
24 The dotted lines show that the hearings may 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 also be conducted if interested stakeholders submit 1
concerns or contentions and their request for a hearing 2
is granted. The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, an 3
adjudicatory panel, will conduct the hearings.
4 The Commission considers the outcome of the 5
hearing process in its decision on whether or not to 6
issue a renewed operating license. As part of the 7
environmental review, the staff consults with local, 8
state, federal and tribal officials. The staff also 9
holds public meetings to receive comments on the draft 10 EIS, Environmental Impact Statement.
11 Now I'm going to describe the license 12 renewal review processes in a little more detail 13 starting with the safety review.
14 To better understand the license renewal 15 process, it's good to know the safety principles that 16 guide license renewal. The first principle is that the 17 current regulatory process is adequate to insure that 18 the licensing basis of all operating plants provides and 19 maintains an acceptable level of safety.
20 The second principle is that the current 21 plant specific licensing basis must be maintained 22 during the renewal term, in the same manner and to the 23 same extent as during the original license term. In 24 other words, the same rules that apply under the current 25
12 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 license, will apply during the renewal term. In 1
addition, a renewed license will include conditions 2
that must be met to insure aging of structures and 3
components, important to safety, is adequately managed 4
so that the plant's current licensing basis is 5
maintained during this period of extended operation.
6 The safety review focuses on the aging of 7
passive and long lived structures and components and 8
systems that the NRC deems important to plant safety.
9 We consider one, the safety related 10 systems, structures and components. For example, 11 reactor containment. Two, non-safety related systems, 12 structures and components which, if they failed, could 13 affect safety related
- systems, structures and 14 components functions. For example, a piece of 15 equipment directly above a safety related component.
16 And third, systems, structures and components related, 17 relied upon for compliance with regulations for fire 18 protection, environmental qualification, pressurized 19 thermal shock, anticipated transient without scram and 20 station blackout.
21 The staff's main objective in this review 22 is to determine if the effects of aging will be 23 adequately managed by the applicant. The results of 24 the safety review are documented in a Safety Evaluation 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 Report or SER.
1 Now that you know what is the subject to 2
review, I'll talk about how the NRC looks at all the 3
information.
4 The safety review consists of numerous, 5
rigorous aspects. A technical staff reviews the 6
applicant's license renewal application and supporting 7
documentation to, one, determine the applicant's 8
methodology to identify these systems, structures and 9
components within the scope of the license renewal and 10 subject to aging management review.
11 Two, determine if the methodology has been 12 properly implemented, and three to determine, with 13 reasonable assurance, that the affects of aging for 14 certain systems, structures and components will be 15 adequately managed or monitored by new and existing 16 programs and surveillance activities.
17 The staff uses site audits, or visits, to 18 verify the technical basis of the license renewal 19 application and to confirm that the applicant's aging 20 management programs and activities conform with how 21 they are described in the application. The staff 22 documents the basis and conclusions of its review in a 23 Safety Evaluation Report, the SER, which is publicly 24 available. In addition, a team of specialized 25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 inspectors travels to the reactor site to verify that 1
aging management programs are being implemented, 2
modified or plant consistent with the license renewal 3
application.
4 Finally, as I've mentioned, the Advisory 5
Committee on Reactor Safeguards performs and 6
independent review of the license renewal application, 7
the staff Safety Evaluation Report and inspection 8
findings and makes a recommendation to the Commission 9
regarding the proposed action to issue a renewed 10 operating license.
11 This slide shows important milestones for 12 the safety review process. And it's important to note 13 that these dates are tentative. Schedule changes may 14 result from a host of reasons. If significant issues 15 are identified, the license renewal review may be 16 suspended indefinitely or terminated, or simply the 17 schedule modified to accommodate.
18 This concludes the description of the 19 safety review. The environmental review will be 20 discussed by the environmental project manager, David 21 Drucker.
22 MR. DRUCKER: Thank you, Jeff. Good 23 evening, my name is David Drucker and I am the License 24 Renewal Departmental Project Manager. In the next few 25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 slides, I'm going to walk you through an overview of the 1
environmental review process. The review is performed 2
in accordance with the National Environmental Policy 3
Act, commonly referred to as NEPA. And NEPA 4
established a
national policy for considering 5
environmental impacts and provides the basic 6
architecture for Federal environmental use.
7 All Federal agencies must follow a 8
systematic approach in evaluating potential impacts, 9
and also to assess alternatives to those actions. The 10 NEPA process involves public participation and public 11 disclosure. The NRC's environmental regulations 12 implementing the requirements of NEPA, are contained in 13 Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations Part 51. And I've 14 placed a, part of that Title 10 Code of Federal 15 Regulations, Brian is holding up the manual out there 16 on the table.
17 Our environmental review considers the 18 impact of license renewal and any mitigation of those 19 impacts considered significant. We also consider the 20 impacts of alternatives to the license renewal 21 including impact of not issuing a renewed license. We 22 document our review in an Environment Impact Statement 23 which is made publicly available.
24 The proposed action is to issue renewed 25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 licenses. The purpose and need of the proposed action 1
is to provide an option that allows for power generation 2
capabilities beyond the term of the current nuclear 3
plant operating licenses to meet future system 4
generating needs as such needs may be determined by 5
other energy planning decision makers not the NRC.
6 This definition of purpose and need 7
reflects the NRC's recognition that, unless there are 8
findings in the safety review required by the Atomic 9
Energy Act, or findings in the environmental analysis 10 that would lead the NRC to reject the license renewal 11 application, the NRC does not have a role in energy 12 planning decisions of state regulators and or public 13 utilities as to whether a particular nuclear power plant 14 should continue to operate.
15 Next slide.
16 The NRC staff analyzes a wide range of 17 potential impacts to areas such as those shown on the 18 slide, please click through those, one more click.
19 Initially we consult with various federal, 20 state and local officials as well as leaders of Tribal 21 Nations. Examples include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 22 Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the 23 Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois 24 Forest Preservation Agency, and Tribal Nations with 25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 historic ties to the area around the plant. We gather 1
pertinent information from these sources and insure it 2
is considered in our analysis.
3 The environmental review begins with a 4
scoping process, which is an assessment of the specific 5
impacts and significant issues that the staff should 6
consider in preparing the environmental impact 7
statement. Currently, this is where we are in the 8
process, we're in the scoping process. Information 9
that we gather from you tonight, and in the next few 10 weeks, will be considered in the development of the 11 environmental impact statement.
12 Some impacts are similar, if not identical, 13 at all nuclear power plants. So to improve efficiency, 14 we developed a generic environmental impact statement 15 that addresses a number of impacts common to all nuclear 16 power plants, and Brian Wittick is holding up a copy of 17 the three volumes that make up our generic environmental 18 impact statements. And there are CDs available with 19 that document on them, right on the table there with 20 Brian.
21 The staff supplements that generic 22 environmental impact statement with a site specific 23 environmental impact statement in which we will address 24 issues that are specific to LaSalle. The staff also 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 re-examines the conclusions reached in the generic 1
environmental impact statement, to determine if there 2
is any new significant information that would change 3
those conclusions.
4 The scoping period started on February 3, 5
2015, when the Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS and 6
conduct scoping was published in the Federal Register.
7 The NRC will accept comments on the scope of the 8
environmental review until April 6, 2015.
9 In general, we are looking for information 10 about the environmental impacts from the continued 11 operation of LaSalle. You can assist this process by 12 telling us, for example, what aspects of your local 13 community we should focus on.
What local 14 environmental, social and economic issues the NRC 15 should examine during our review and what other major 16 projects are in progress or planned in the area. And 17 finally, what reasonable alternatives are most 18 appropriate for this region.
19 These are just some of the examples of the 20 input we seek through the environmental scoping 21 process. We don't know your community as well as you 22 do so your comments will help insure a thorough review.
23 Public comments are an important part of 24 the environmental review process. So, how do we use 25
19 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 your comments? Well, all of your comments, whether 1
provided verbally during this meeting, or written in a 2
letter, or in an e-mail, are considered and addressed.
3 We respond to each comment as part of the environmental 4
review process. The EIS is one of the factors, as well 5
as some that are shown here on the slide, that influences 6
the decision to renew the license or not.
7 I would like to mention several important 8
areas of NRC oversight that routinely come up during our 9
interactions with members of the public. NRC staff 10 address these areas of performance every day as a part 11 of ongoing regulatory oversight provided for all 12 currently operating power plants. They include 13 current safety performance, and emergency preparedness 14 and security. And on the slide I've provided under the 15 current safety performance, the website where you could 16 find current safety performance for LaSalle. That 17 information is on the slide, so you don't need to write 18 that down.
19 So the important thing to note here is that 20 the NRC is monitoring these activities every day. So 21 we do not re-evaluate them in license renewal.
22 This slide shows the important milestones 23 for the environmental review process. These dates are 24 subject to change based on the process, how that review 25
20 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 goes. The opportunity to submit environmental scoping 1
comments closes on April 6, 2015.
2 Please note, and as Jeff discussed earlier, 3
this is the same last day to submit contentions for a 4
hearing. Please note that a draft supplemental 5
environmental impact statement is scheduled to be 6
issued for public comment in February of 2016, with an 7
associated public meeting to receive your comments on 8
this preliminary document.
9 In addition to providing verbal and written 10 comments in this meeting, there are other ways that you 11 can submit comments. You can provide written comments, 12 by e-mail, at the address provided at the top of the 13 slide. You can submit comments online using the 14 Federal Rule Making website at regulations.gov. And 15 you want to enter the keyword NRC-2014-0268, because 16 that's specific to the LaSalle license renewal 17 application review. You can e-mail me your comments, 18 and please note that comments will not be edited to 19 remove any identifying or contact information, so 20 please do not include any information in the comments, 21 that you do not want to publicly disclosed.
22 And as I mentioned, the deadline for the 23 comments during the scoping review, at the bottom of the 24 slide, April 6, 2015.
25
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(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 Jeff and I are the primary points of contact 1
at the NRC for the license renewal review for LaSalle.
2 Our contact information is provided on this slide. And 3
again, the slides are available hardcopy on the desk out 4
there.
5 Hardcopies of the license renewal 6
application and the environmental report can be found 7
at the library shown on the slide and I also have CDs 8
with the license renewal application on the table in the 9
hallway. These documents will also be on the NRCs 10 website at the web address shown at the bottom of the 11 slide. And, as you came in, you were asked to fill out 12 a registration card at our reception table. If you've 13 included your address on that card, I will mail you a 14 CD copy the draft and the final EIS.
15 This concludes my presentation. I turn 16 the microphone back to Bob Hagar. Thank you.
17 MR. HAGAR: All right, that was the NRC 18 presentation that constituted Part Two of this meeting, 19 so we'll move right into Part Three.
20 Does anyone here have any questions about 21 the material you've just seen? Anything you want the 22 NRC to cover again or any questions, anything you want 23 them to clear up?
24 Okay, I see no hands. Now we've invited 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 the public to participate by phone, so let me check in 1
with the operator and ask the operator, is there anyone, 2
do we have any participants on the phone?
3 OPERATOR: We do have three participants, 4
and if you would like to ask a question, please hit *1 5
so we know that you want to ask a question.
6 One moment.
7 MR. HAGAR: Okay, so we'll just standby and 8
give the members of the public on the phone a chance to 9
hit the right buttons and be recognized.
10 OPERATOR: It looks like we have one 11 question queuing up, one moment.
12 Our question is from Linda Lewison, your 13 line is open.
14 MS. LEWISON: Thank you, this is Linda 15 Lewison, from Chicago, I'm with Nuclear Energy 16 Information Service, a watchdog on the nuclear industry 17 in Illinois and I'm with the Sierra Club National Core 18 team Nuclear Free Campaign.
19 My questions are about the storage of 20 radioactive waste at LaSalle. We'll file these 21 comments in writing as well, but we would like more 22 information about what is in the fuel pools now, how much 23 radioactive waste is in the fuel pools, and what are the 24 plans when you go forward to put in and take out 25
23 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 radioactive waste to and from the fuel pools. And what 1
do you plan to do with the radioactive waste during the 2
future plans for LaSalle.
3 MR. HAGAR: Okay, Linda, let me interrupt 4
just a minute. This part of the meeting we're asking 5
for questions about the material the NRC has presented.
6 You're asking for information that was not what the NRC 7
presented and so that's certainly information that the 8
NRC wants to consider. But first let's cover, do you 9
have any questions about the material the NRC presented?
10 MS. LEWISON: I will think on it some more 11 and I'll get back, I'll come back in a minute, yeah.
12 Thank you, go ahead.
13 OPERATOR: Thank you. We do have another 14 question from Ruth Thomas. Your line is open.
15 MR. HAGAR: Okay Ruth, hi.
16 MS. THOMAS: Hi.
17 MR. HAGAR: Do you have a question about 18 the material?
19 MS. THOMAS: You mean all the materials 20 used in nuclear power?
21 MR. HAGAR: No, the materials that the NRC 22 just presented in this meeting about the environmental 23 impact reviews and license renewal.
24 MS. THOMAS: Well, the materials are 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 affected we're still, you're still talking about 1
renewal of these plants that were built in 1973?
2 MR. HAGAR: Yes, that's exactly what 3
they're talking about.
4 MS. THOMAS: And, and over the years and 5
there's certainly plenty of evidence about what 6
exposure to radiation has done to different materials 7
and I'm not sure, have the steam generators been 8
replaced before, over the years? Or are they the 9
original steam generators?
10 MR. HAGAR: Ruth, the LaSalle County 11 Station is a, both the units are boiling water reactors, 12 they don't have any steam generators.
13 MS. THOMAS: Oh, well that's good, they 14 don't have to replace them then. Well what is the 15 component that has been replaced over the years in the 16 boiling water reactors?
17 MR. HAGAR: Ruth, let me just try to answer 18 that question. It's my understanding that there are no 19 major components in boiling water reactors that are 20 replaced in any manner like the way steam generators are 21 replaced in pressurized water reactors. There are, of 22 course, components in any plant that wear out. But as 23 they wear out, every plant, including the LaSalle 24 Station, replaces them. They perform maintenance on 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 them as they're operating and as they wear out, they 1
replace them. That's ongoing and has been, it is 2
ongoing during the current license period and, as I 3
think Jeff pointed out, that will continue during the 4
period of extended operation.
5 MS. THOMAS: Well I've read that things 6
like gaskets in maintenance materials like that, are, 7
have to be replaced they're subject to damage from 8
radiation.
9 MR. HAGAR: Ruth, that's exactly right.
10 And that's exactly what I talked about, in terms of 11 periodic maintenance, preventive maintenance, 12 corrective maintenance. Those things that wear out get 13 replaced, and so that's really not a, I suggest that's 14 really not a consideration associated with license 15 renewal. Because that's something that happens even 16 during the current license period.
17 Do you have a question associated with 18 environmental impact reviews, or license renewal?
19 MS. THOMAS: Well I'm not sure what you're 20 saying is outside the scope because when our group 21 thinks about nuclear power, we think about all the steps 22 in there. Mining of the uranium, the transportation, 23 the processing, the enrichment and all of the different 24 steps and --
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 MR. HAGAR: And Ruth, Ruth let me 1
interrupt, and it is certainly true that in the area of 2
nuclear power, there are many issues. There are issues 3
associated with mining, and refining and building and 4
operating and renewing the license of nuclear power, and 5
if we were to talk about any of those topics, even one 6
of those topics in depth, we could not possibly cover 7
that topic adequately in the two hours we've set aside 8
for this meeting.
9 So we really need, in this meeting, to focus 10 on the purpose of this meeting. That's to obtain input 11 from the public to help the NRC focus their 12 environmental impact reviews associated with license 13 renewal for the LaSalle County Stations.
14 So I ask again, do you have any questions 15 that would help, do you have any questions about the 16 material the NRC presented?
17 MS. THOMAS: Well when do questions come in 18 about the changes that have happened since they started 19 using nuclear, changes in the process of making 20 decisions. The decision making process, where is that 21 22 MR. HAGAR: Okay, Ruth, let me interrupt, 23 let me suggest, and in this afternoon's meeting you will 24 recall David Drucker invited you to send your comments, 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 your questions to him? So please do that. And 1
operator, we need to move on and to see if there are any 2
other people on the line?
3 OPERATOR: Okay, we do have Marv, your line 4
is open.
5 MR. LEWIS: Marvin Lewis, member of the 6
public. Look, back in the '60s and '50s, '70s the 7
enrichment of U235 was around two or three percent. The 8
coefficient's of criticality which are predictions sort 9
of, when the darn things going to get too hot to handle, 10 was designed around those enrichments.
11 Now I read, in your paperwork, that the 12 enrichment is above five percent. I have not, I've been 13 following it for years. Yes, I've been following it 14 through the '60s and '70s and '80s. And my question is 15 this, I haven't seen definitively how a criticality, at 16 the wrong time, is being avoided. Usually using 17 something called a coefficient of criticality or COEFF, 18 or KEFF rather, subscript eff in the calculations. I 19 have not seen it 20 Now you're saying that this is safe. And 21 I can't understand that. If the darn plant is designed 22 for two or three percent enrichment of uranium 235, and 23 now you're saying it's safe at a five percent 24 enrichment? I would say this raises flags, kind of like 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 a maintenance tag hiding a little red warning light at 1
Three Mile Island. If you understand that accident.
2 And that's my point. I don't see it in your 3
paperwork. Where do you look at the criticality and 4
make sure it's safe when it should be.
5 MR. HAGAR: We'll certainly take that 6
comment and the program manager is indicating that they 7
will address that in their, in either the environmental 8
impact review or I guess it'll be in the safety review, 9
safety evaluation report.
10 MR. LEWIS: All right, my e-mail is 11 marvlewis@juno.com. I'd sure like to see when you, 12 send me ML numbers, you know, the Adams numbers for it 13 when it comes out. And it should have come out before 14 you ask for the extension. Thank you.
15 MR. HAGAR: Okay, Marv, Marv wait, one more 16 time, give your e-mail address one time, one more time 17 so we're sure we get it right.
18 MR.
LEWIS:
19 M-a-r-v-l-e-w-i-s@j-u-n-o.c-o-m. Marvlewis.com 20 MR. HAGAR: All right Marv, thank you very 21 much for your comment.
22 MR. LEWIS: Thank you.
23 MR. HAGAR: Operator, is there anyone else 24 on the phone that we have to comment?
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 OPERATOR: I am showing no other questions 1
in queue.
2 MR. HAGAR: Okay, thank you. Okay we've, 3
now we've cleared up what we hoped were the questions 4
about the material, so we kind of segued into Part Four 5
of this meeting. And that is where the NRC is asking 6
for input to help the NRC focus their environmental 7
reviews. Any site specific information, any local 8
information that you want to insure the NRC considers 9
in the environmental reviews.
10 So, I'd ask the people here, that are 11 present, do you have any input that you want the NRC to 12 consider in their environmental impact reviews? I 13 don't see any hands. So I'll put the same question to 14 the people on the phone; does anyone on the phone have 15 any comments to help the NRC focus their environmental 16 impact reviews associated with the license renewal of 17 the LaSalle County Station?
18 Operator, could you ask, does anyone, is 19 anyone indicating they have any comments?
20 OPERATOR: Again, it's *1 if you have any 21 comments. We do have one person queuing up, one moment.
22 I am showing no questions in queue.
23 MR. HAGAR: Go ahead on the phone.
24 MR. DRUCKER: No, she said no questions.
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 MR.
HAGAR:
Oh no questions.
1 Misunderstood, thank you operator. All right, Part One 2
was the introduction, Part Two was the presentation, 3
Part Three was the questions and answers, Part Four was 4
comments. So we completed all the parts of this 5
meeting. Chris Miller, do you want to have any close 6
B 7
MR. DRUCKER: Before you do that, could we 8
ask, Operator, could you ask if Linda Lewison is still 9
on, because I don't know if Linda completed her question 10 or comments. And I want to make sure she has a chance 11 to say what she wanted to say.
12 OPERATOR: Okay, one moment. Linda, your 13 line is open.
14 MS. LEWISON: Is it open now?
15 MR. HAGAR: Yes.
16 MS. LEWISON: Can you hear me?
17 MR. HAGAR: Yes, we can hear you.
18 MS. LEWISON: Okay, Linda Lewison, I do not 19 have any further questions or comments at this time.
20 MR. HAGAR: All right Operator, thank you.
21 MS. LEWISON: We'll submit them in writing 22 by April 6th, thank you.
23 MR. HAGAR: And I apologize, I tried to 24 wing this without reviewing my script and I forgot the 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 yellow cards. So, when you signed in tonight, those of 1
you that indicated you wanted to make a comment, I wish 2
some of you had raised your hand to remind me. Put your 3
names on sheets, on yellow cards here. And we're going 4
to go through these cards in the order in which you 5
arrived, in the order which I received them. And so I 6
would invite you to come up when I call your name, and 7
bring your notes with you and stand at the lectern and 8
I'll hold them microphone and make whatever statements 9
you need to make at this time.
10 So, Roger Blomquist is going to be first, 11 followed by Doug O'Brien. So Roger?
12 MR. BLOMQUIST: Given that this is 13 essentially the same audience as this afternoon, I'll 14 just pass.
15 MR. HAGAR: I understand Roger has 16 basically the same thing to say he said this afternoon, 17 so you're going to pass. Doug O'Brien followed by Mike 18 Gallagher.
19 MR. O'BRIEN: I think I go along with 20 Roger, it's essentially the same, same group here that 21 we had this afternoon, and the same comments.
22 MR. HAGAR: So that's, you're Doug, right?
23 MR. O'BRIEN: Yes.
24 MR. HAGAR: So Doug declines to say 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 anything else. Mike Gallagher?
1 MR. GALLAGHER: Yes Bob, so my comments are 2
pretty much the same as this afternoon, but I think it's 3
important that members of the public hear, hear the 4
statements from Exelon, so I'd like to state my 5
statement again. Which, again, my name's Mike 6
Gallagher and I'm the Vice President of Licensing for 7
Exelon. I have overall responsibility for the LaSalle 8
County Generating Station license renewal application.
9 And I would like to thank the NRC for this 10 opportunity to speak on behalf of Exelon on this 11 important project for us.
12 So at Exelon, we have a great deal of 13 experience with license renewal, as we have already 14 obtained and renewed licenses for our Dresden and Quad 15 Cities plants here in Illinois and for seven of other 16 facilities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and 17 New York. We also have an application for our 18 Byron/Braidwood plants here in Illinois and that's 19 under NRC review.
20 Just briefly about myself, I've been 21 working in the nuclear power industry for nearly 34 22 years. I was a licensed senior reactor operator and 23 plant manager at Limerick Generating Station in 24 Pennsylvania and I've worked at two other nuclear plants 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 and our corporate office.
1 Mr. John Keenan will be speaking shortly, 2
about the reasons for renewing our license and what I'd 3
like to speak about is our process for preparing this 4
license renewal application and the amount of work and 5
engineering analysis that was put into preparing the 6
application.
7 So because LaSalle Station can be operated 8
safely and reliably, Exelon decided to pursue license 9
renewal for LaSalle. LaSalle's safe, efficient 10 operation promotes a critical supply of carbon free 11 electricity for Illinois and beyond. LaSalle produces 12 enough clean power to supply 2.3 million homes.
13 So, in 2011, we announced our intentions to 14 seek license renewal. We later started the work 15 necessary to prepare the application. After over two 16 years of work, we submitted the application to the 17 Nuclear Regulatory Commission on December 9, 2014.
18 Safe and reliable operations has been the 19 hallmark of LaSalle Station since it came online and our 20 goal during the license renewal process, is to 21 demonstrate to the NRC and our neighbors, that we will 22 continue that legacy during our additional 20 year 23 operating period.
24 The application we have printed out is 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 about 2200 pages, it's a huge amount of information.
1 But that only represents a small part of the work that 2
was done for the engineering analysis to prepare the 3
application. We invested over 60,000 man hours of 4
engineering work and once we completed our engineering 5
work to prepare the application, we brought in outside 6
experts to review the application and to insure that it 7
was complete, thorough and accurate.
8 And there are two different parts to our 9
application, the safety review and the environmental 10 review. For the safety review, we took an in-depth look 11 at the history and condition of the safety equipment in 12 the plant. We did that to determine whether the 13 necessary maintenance was being performed on that 14 equipment, to make sure that equipment will be able to 15 operate when needed, not only today, but for the 16 additional 20 years of operation.
17 So when you look back at LaSalle, when it 18 was built, all the equipment was new, it was thoroughly 19 tested to make sure it would perform properly. But like 20 anything else, equipment does age and therefore certain 21 activities need to be done with the equipment.
22 Preventative maintenance is performed, sometimes 23 equipment is refurbished, some equipment may be 24 replaced, there may be modifications done to the plant 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 to upgrade the equipment. In fact, Exelon has invested 1
over $61 million in 2014 alone at LaSalle to improve and 2
modernize the equipment to enhance plant operations and 3
safety.
4 We've also reviewed calculations that were 5
performed as part of the design of the plant that were 6
done to insure that the plant could operate safely for 7
40 years. We analyzed those calculations and we were 8
able to confirm that the plant would be able to operate 9
safely for 60 years. Overall, our conclusions from our 10 engineering review, was that LaSalle could operate 11 safely for 60 years.
12 We also took a look at the environmental 13 impacts of continuing to operate LaSalle. We looked at 14 all aspects of continuing impact of the plant on the 15 environment. Our conclusion is that the impacts on the 16 environment are small, and I use that term small in the 17 sense that is in the regulation. The regulation 18 defines small as the environmental affects are not 19 detectable and/or minor. We reviewed the alternatives 20 if LaSalle would not have its license renewed and other 21 sources of electric generation would have to be 22 installed either here onsite or someplace else to 23 replace the required electricity.
24 We concluded that any other means of 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 generating the replacement electricity would have more 1
of an impact on the environment than the continued 2
operation of LaSalle.
3 So, in conclusion, we operate LaSalle 4
safely, and we could continue to operate safely for an 5
additional 20 years. LaSalle will provide approximately 6
2313 megawatts of base-load electric generation that's 7
not only safe, but it's clean, it's reliable and it's 8
economical. Continued operation of LaSalle will 9
benefit our community, the State of Illinois, and the 10 nation.
11 Thanks for this opportunity.
12 MR. HAGAR: Thank you Mike, Larry Louis?
13 MR. LOUIS: Yes. I will also pass.
14 MR. HAGAR: So you will defer additional 15 comments and basically refer back to the comments you 16 made this afternoon?
17 MR. LOUIS: Yes, I'm representing the 18 Illinois Valley building trades. Illinois Valley 19 building trades and I would like to say that we support 20 nuclear power and the support the relicensing of LaSalle 21 Station.
22 MR. HAGAR: Thank you Larry. Jim Carlson.
23 You'll be up, followed by Jay Houston. Jim come on up.
24 MR. CARLSON: Good evening everyone, I'm 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 Jim Carlson, the Superintendent of Seneca High School, 1
and I wanted to speak out in support of the license 2
extension that's being proposed. Exelon has been a 3
terrific partner for Seneca High School and if anyone 4
has had the opportunity to come and visit us, they could 5
only look at our building and see why. The wonderful 6
resources that they're able to provide us had allowed 7
us to develop rock solid outstanding core curriculum as 8
well a wonderful vocational program that we don't have 9
to drive to another county or across a county for our 10 kids to access.
11 But besides the resources, which again, has 12 given us a wonderful, safe, current building, they've 13 also provided us some other things. And I don't know 14 a lot of understand or know about. For example, their 15 engineers and scientists have worked with our science 16 teachers on developing curriculum that can be infused 17 in our science program, dealing with nuclear energy.
18 Okay, in a program I think they call Nuclear 101.
19 Additionally, on an annual basis, they 20 provide support for a project that our FFA program 21 sponsored which is called "30 miles per hour". Which 22 is essentially, we adopt stretches of road and we go out, 23 our kids go out and they clean up the rubbish and the 24 trash that have accumulated over the years.
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 Now a couple of other things that you might 1
not think are a big deal, but they were to me, is just 2
the ability to reach out to someone like Megan, and say 3
hey listen, we know our website's not very good, and we 4
want to be more transparent and we want to be very 5
proactive in our communication. And we would like you, 6
as an expert, and you as a constituent, to take a look 7
at our website and tell us what we can do to do better, 8
so that we can communicate better. And you would think 9
that perhaps that it would just be, okay, you know, I'll 10 get to you. But that's not what happened. What 11 happened is I got a thoughtful, reflective and very 12 thorough response that truly helped us make our website 13 better. Okay, again, an above and beyond type of thing.
14 And it's not perfect, but it's a lot better. Thanks, 15 Meg.
16 Also, and this is maybe one of the most 17 important things that we've experienced with our 18 partnership with Exelon, is we're constantly striving 19 to get better and better every day. To provide a great 20 educational program, because we're only successful if 21 our kids are successful. And we really explored the 22 work of Dr. Tony Wagner, from Harvard, who took a look 23 at what kids need to be successful when they enter either 24 the workforce or college, or the military, what have 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 you. And we found the same core competencies are 1
required.
2 And so, of course you have to, you can't 3
just take research for research, you kind of almost have 4
to validate that. And so we, at the local level, we 5
tried to replicate that. So again, a call to Exelon 6
just asking a series of questions, like what are you 7
looking for kids to be able to do so that they can be 8
employed by you. And again what I received is not just 9
something that was just okay, here, go away type of 10 thing, but a very thoughtful and reflective response 11 that actually helped us develop a lot of our curriculum 12 and instructional initiatives that we changed.
13 So again, you know, you look at the dollars 14 that are contributed to Seneca High School and you say 15 wow, that's great, but then you look at the other things 16 and you realize that our partnership is really much more 17 than just us reaping some benefits of dollars.
18 A couple of things I want to comment about 19 safety, I've had the opportunity through invitation to 20 attend the plant on a couple of different occasions, if 21 you try to get into the plant you know that there are 22 hurdles upon hurdles upon hurdles. So you know that 23 they take safety, you know, to a large degree. And 24 also, along the lines of safety, I've participated in 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 numerous mock incidents both at the Seneca level, but 1
also here in this very room when I was the Regional 2
Superintendent of the schools. Where we participate in 3
the mock disaster drills, you know, at the plant. And 4
I can tell you this, that those drills are taken very, 5
very seriously by Exelon and have actually helped us 6
kind of reflect on our own safety plan so that we can 7
do a better job of insuring that our kids and our staff 8
are safe.
9 A couple more things, obviously Exelon 10 provides an economic driver for our community. Many of 11 our community members work at the plant and a lot of our 12 parents do. And again, our hope is that hopefully some 13 our graduates are going to be able to be employed in the 14 future and that's kind of the goal for us.
15 So, in closing, Exelon has a wonderful 16 track record of community service, safety, and a 17 commitment to education that make them a wonderful 18 partner and I urge you to grant its request for license 19 extension. Thank you.
20 MR. HAGAR: Thank you, Jim. Jay Houston?
21 And Jay will be followed by Jerry Hicks.
22 MR. HOUSTON: Good evening, my name is Jay 23 Houston, I am the Nuclear Oversight Manager on LaSalle 24 County Station. I've got 37 years at the plant through 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 various positions.
Currently I
manage ten 1
individuals. Those individuals monitor the assessment 2
or the behaviors of the workers at LaSalle county, 3
auditors which look at the process and programs to make 4
sure they're completed accordingly and quality 5
verification to insure that equipment components are 6
restored to their as designed basis. So I consider this 7
a very good opportunity for the site for a license 8
renewal and support the safety and continued operation 9
of LaSalle. That's it. Thank you.
10 MR. HAGAR: Okay, thank you. And Jerry 11 Hicks? And Jerry will be followed by Reed Wilson.
12 MR. HICKS: I am Jerry Hicks, I'm LaSalle 13 County Board Chairman here in the County and can 14 remember numerous things that Jim had brought forward 15 as well. And I'd like to say that LaSalle County does 16 support the license renewal, I, some of the thing that 17 I'm going to say are probably somewhat elementary and 18 potentially redundant. To this group as well, I hope, 19 well I had anticipated more members of the public here 20 to be able to expound upon it, but since I do have a few 21 tidbits here I think I'm going to go ahead and throw them 22 out there for the record as well.
23 So, I understand that, you know, there are 24 six nuclear facilities that generate at least 48 percent 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 of the power in the State of Illinois. And that 1
families in these communities, like LaSalle County, 2
certainly depend on the facilities to provide the 3
electricity to them. And I do know the LaSalle Station 4
employs upwards, up to 900 employees on a regular basis 5
and they do contribute approximately $24 million to the 6
local economy. And that is certainly something that we 7
need as a driver around here.
8 LaSalle Station directly and indirectly 9
contributes at least a billion dollars to the Illinois 10 economy. And I also know LaSalle Station does provide 11 a lot of volunteer involvement. I have seen it out here 12 on numerous occasions. They donate at least up to and 13 beyond $185,000 to the local not-for-profits. And one 14 of them, and I know Larry Louis can attest to the fact, 15 Labor of Love is one of the biggest pushes that we have 16 around here and there is a lot involvement in that.
17 The annual outing has also employed 18 hundreds and hundreds of people, local people and 19 outside people that as well promote the economy as it 20 does in their other facilities that they have around the 21 state and elsewhere. And I do believe that LaSalle 22 station is among other facilities, nuclear facilities, 23 that leads the nation in providing clean energy and 24 that's what I think we're striving for and I certainly 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 think that that's something that will be very critical 1
in complying with the Illinois EPA limits on carbon 2
emissions which I know is a big push as well going on 3
right now.
4 And I have had the opportunity to work as 5
a contractor at LaSalle County generating station and 6
as well at the Morris generating station and the Dresden 7
station. I worked at the Dresden station as a painter 8
for about seven years and I was, for a couple years I 9
was at LaSalle station as a Health Physics Engineering 10 Assistant, and I'm sure you've probably heard that 11 before within the plant.
12 And I do know that there is a strong 13 commitment to safety in these nuclear facilities and, 14 you know, there is certainly an innate culture of 15 training and safety practices that's always in place.
16 And one of the statements that I recall that I maintain 17 in my mind all the time is a saying that I heard that 18 was, that may sound simple, but always maintain a 19 questioning attitude. Especially when you're around 20 such large dose and you know, take a step, maybe step 21 back and think about it two or three times before you 22 move forward. So, you know, as far as safety at the 23 plant, I think it's a very strong, very, there's a very 24 strong culture pushing that safety route.
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 So I do believe that LaSalle station has 1
been very, very transparent in all it's operations 2
around the plant and would certainly like to, and shows 3
that they want to listen the public, and involving them 4
in, and obviously they're here for that and I would as 5
well like to thank Megan. She has certainly as well 6
engaged us in a lot of communications back and forth in 7
a multitude of things that we've done in the past.
8 And again, we support LaSalle stations in 9
its renewal of its license.
10 MR. HAGAR: Thank you. Reed Wilson?
11 MR. WILSON: Thank you, I'm Reed Wilson, 12 Deputy District Director for Congressman Kinzinger, 13 16th District, and of course Ottawa is the heart of that 14 district. I have a statement to share from the 15 Congressman, briefly. It's addressed to the U.S.
16 Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dear Commissioners,
17 thank you for allowing my office the opportunity to 18 address this public meeting regarding the license 19 renewal application of the LaSalle generating station 20 currently pending with the Nuclear Regulatory 21 Commission. The issue of maintaining our current fleet 22 of clean, affordable, energy generation in Illinois is 23 of the utmost importance to residents, consumers and 24 elected officials throughout the region.
25
45 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 Illinois continues to be a leader in the 1
production of carbon free electricity with six nuclear 2
plants providing nearly half of the overall electricity 3
generated and over 90 percent of the carbon free 4
electricity in the state. Four of these facilities 5
reside within in the 16th District alone, where they 6
have been a driving force in stabilizing not only the 7
price of power, but also the reliability of the grid 8
overall.
9 If this source of clean base load power 10 generation, approximately 12,000 megawatts overall, 11 were not available, there is little doubt that prices 12 would rise exponentially and grid stability would be 13 negatively impacted. Additionally, the nuclear energy 14 industry has a substantial impact on the economy at the 15 state and local level. These plants are directly 16 responsible for providing thousands of quality, high 17 paying jobs for high skilled workers and in turn provide 18 a huge boost to our economy worth nearly $9 billion 19 annually.
20 The 800 employees at the LaSalle facility 21 pay over $50 million annually in payroll and given that 22 the majority of these employees reside in LaSalle and 23 Grundy Counties, they are able to provide a foundation 24 which supports the local base.
25
46 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 We're here today to discuss the license 1
renewal application of the LaSalle generating station, 2
which is to provide clean reliable power for three 3
decades. A process to be involved by NRC attainable in 4
a transparent manner in which it conducts these hearings 5
allowing members of the public the opportunity to 6
provide comments on the environmental aspects of the 7
process. There is a level of commitment and 8
transparency that should take place at aspects of 9
government licensing.
10 It is also important to note the NRC also 11 requires the plant's application to include an 12 additional environmental report based solely on a 13 plant's potential impact to the environment should the 14 application be extended beyond its initial license.
15 This extra step helps to insure the safety and 16 environmental benefit of the facility to the 17 surrounding area.
18 It is my hope that as this multi-year effort 19 takes place, they will continue to do so in an 20 expeditious manner as possible. Extending the life of 21 this facility for 20 years will insure that a clean 22 source of energy for millions of consumers is able to 23 move forward with certainty in the future operations.
24 Respectfully, Adam Kinzinger, 25
47 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 Representative in Congress. Thank you.
1 MR. HAGAR: Thank you. Okay, now I've 2
been through the yellow cards. I didn't hear you, come 3
on up.
4 MR. KEENAN: For those of you who were here 5
earlier, I promise this will be just as riveting. I'm 6
John Keenan, I'm the Operating Director of LaSalle 7
County generating station.
I have overall 8
responsibility for the safe day-to-day operation of 9
both nuclear units including shift operations and 10 support staff personnel. I have 15 years experience in 11 the nuclear industry. I started my career with LaSalle 12 station in 2000, I was an equipment operator, an 13 operations shift supervisor, a shift manager and shift 14 operations superintendent.
15 Operating the station safely and reliably 16 is a key responsibility for all of the employees at 17 LaSalle County generating station, one that we take very 18 seriously and as a personal commitment to ourselves, the 19 community and to the industry. I'm proud to say that 20 we've been a key part of this community for more than 21 30 years.
22 LaSalle county generating station operates 23 in a manner that preserves the environment. We 24 maintain a comprehensive radiological monitoring 25
48 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 program that extensively monitors the air, water and 1
soil around the facility to insure that we're not 2
adversely impacting the environment.
3 We have a
comprehensive on-site 4
environmental groundwater protection program. This 5
program includes 20 on-site monitoring wells. We have 6
detailed procedures that outline how we test water 7
leaving the site. Radiation monitors are staged at 50 8
locations within a ten mile radius around the plant to 9
monitor radiation dose levels and to ensure the safety 10 of the community.
11 LaSalle's environmental management 12 systems are certified under the strict criteria of the 13 International Organization for Standardization, 14 specifically we received the ISO 14001 Certification.
15 This is an internationally recognized benchmark for 16 environmental management. The ISO 14001 Certification 17 requires a commitment to excellence in meeting our 18 regulatory requirements, in the prevention of 19 pollution, and continuous improvement of our 20 environmental systems.
21 The Wildlife Habitat Council recognized 22 LaSalle County generating station's commitment to 23 environmental stewardship by awarding us the Wildlife 24 at Work Certification. This distinction was awarded 25
49 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 wildlife habitat management and environmental 1
education program, as well as our commitment to 2
establishing long term wildlife habitat enhancements 3
for animal species living on our property.
4 To ensure LaSalle continues to operate 5
safely for years to come, Exelon continues to invest in 6
LaSalle. We spend millions of dollars each year to 7
improve and modernize the equipment and enhance plant 8
operations and safety systems. Our investment in the 9
future doesn't stop with investment in equipment, we've 10 hired 31 employees since the beginning of 2015, and we 11 maintain a workforce of approximately 800 employees.
12 During our annual maintenance and 13 refueling outages, that population grows temporarily 14 for about a month, by another 1500 employees bringing 15 a boost to the local economies. We also take pride in 16 our investments in the community. Last year our 17 employees donated over $180,000 to local United Way 18 agencies. We supported Labor of Love, a home repair 19 blitz for people who are unable to care for their homes 20 themselves. In addition to working with the Seneca 21 High School on local road clean-ups.
22 We have provided scholarships and raised 23 funds for local schools, food pantries and educational 24 initiatives. Our employees host toy, coat and school 25
50 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 supply drives. The LaSalle Station funds various 1
not-for-profit groups and agencies.
2 In short, we do our very best to be a good 3
neighbor. For more than 30 years, LaSalle station has 4
performed reliably and safely and has set numerous 5
benchmarks in the nuclear power industry. We work 6
toward license renewal every day through dedication to 7
continuous improvement.
8 In conclusion, we look forward to working 9
with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in their review 10 of our license renewal application. Thank you for your 11 time.
12 MR. HAGAR: All right, is there anyone else 13 for whom I do not have a yellow card? So let me ask 14 again, is there anyone who has any comments related to 15 or associated with the environmental impact review for 16 the license renewal of the LaSalle County station? Is 17 there anyone in the meeting who has anything else to say?
18 Then, Chris Miller, do you have any closing comments?
19 MR. MILLER: I do. Thank you, Bob. My 20 name is Chris Miller, I'm the Director of the Division 21 of License Renewal for the Nuclear Regulatory 22 Commission and it's our division that performs the 23 analysis of the licensee's application.
24 First of all I've got to say thank you, you 25
51 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 know, taking this time out of your evening, there's a 1
lot of other things I'm sure people had to do at this 2
time in the evening. But it really means a lot to us 3
to get the participation.
4 I want to thank the people that helped put 5
this on and set this up. It's nice to have a facility 6
like this and be able to share comments and discussion.
7 We heard a number of comments, I don't want 8
to go through all them and give you a litany, but I, I'll 9
just tell you a couple things that we heard. First of 10 all, I want to say for the people who had questions at 11 the beginning, before we took the statements and the 12 comments we had some questions. For those folks, 13 Linda, Marvin, Ruth, we have your contact information 14 and I believe you have ours. Some of your questions may 15 likely be outside the bounds of our license renewal 16 application review, things on waste storage, routine 17 maintenance and how licensees prove they are effective 18 is within their technical specifications and how the NRC 19 reviews that.
20 But we will get back to you with the right 21 people to be able to answer that, those questions.
22 On the statements today, and some folks 23 gave a shortened version of what they gave earlier, we 24 have those comments from earlier. I do want to thank 25
52 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 representatives that have shown up here, public 1
representatives, Reed Wilson from Congressman 2
Kinzinger's office. Appreciate the letter and the 3
statement that the Congressman provided regarding his 4
views on the safety and the reliability of the power and 5
what the station means to the community. And the, 6
especially the comment on transparency and openness. I 7
wanted to reflect on that for just one minute because 8
that's something that the NRC, Nuclear Regulatory 9
Commission, really values. It's one of our core 10 principles.
11 We want to be transparent in what we do, we 12 want the public to see what we're doing and be involved 13 in those processes as we go through that. And so we have 14 several different stages. We have these kinds of 15 meetings, we have comment periods, you heard about the 16 comment period that closes April 6th. So if you didn't 17 get a chance to make your comment, you can still make 18 comments online, I know some of you have said that you're 19 going to do that and there's various ways beside online 20 to make those comments. So we value that openness and 21 that public participation, so appreciate it, appreciate 22 the comment there on openness and transparency.
23 I want to thank also, Mr. Hicks from the 24 LaSalle County Board to give us the local board's views 25
53 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 of how this station is perceived and the benefits that 1
you see coming out of this station.
2 We also heard comments from Mr. Gallagher 3
highlighting the clean, safe, reliable source of power 4
that they believe that Exelon is and will continue to 5
be through this and through the extending period of 6
operation, and a number of points there.
7 Mr. Louis mentioning how the trades support 8
this application. Mr. Carlson, good presentation on 9
the all the educational benefits and the partnership 10 there. I'm going to have to look up Mr. Wagner and his 11 ideas. But thank you for bringing that, your point 12 forward there.
13 And we heard several of folks from the plant 14 talking about, again, safe, reliable operation. Not 15 only that, but I think as Mr. Keenan talked about, a good 16 stewardship, a good community partner. We've heard 17 that a number of times today and so those comments came 18 across.
19 Again, this is one session, there's other 20 opportunities to put in those comments. What things 21 should we consider as we're looking the environmental 22 review. What are those things that you want us to look 23 at because you, the folks that live closer here than we 24 do may have some insights that we're not seeing, we're 25
54 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 not getting. So please provide those comments to us.
1 We really appreciate you coming out tonight 2
and we appreciate, we look forward to your comments now 3
through April 6th and we will take those seriously.
4 We'll provide a summary of this, a transcript of this 5
meeting and then there's other opportunities as we make 6
our reviews public later on, for interaction.
7 So I thank everyone here tonight. And I'll 8
turn it over, back to you Bob.
9 MR. HAGAR: Now we've gone through all four 10 parts of the meeting. The last thing I want to say, 11 besides thanks for everybody showing up and thank you 12 for your attention, your time and attention this 13 evening.
14 The last thing I want to say is there's a 15 stack of meeting feedback forms. Brian is holding one 16 of them up now. If you would please, as you leave, pick 17 up a copy, pick up one of those forms and provide us any 18 comments you have regarding this meeting this evening.
19 And we'll consider your input as a way that we can 20 improve meetings in the future.
21 So, last chance for anybody to say 22 anything. All right, then thank you again. This 23 meeting is adjourned.
24 (Whereupon at 8:15 p.m. the meeting was 25
55 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1323 RHODE ISLAND AVE., N.W.
(202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-3701 (202) 234-4433 concluded.)
1