ML22215A207
| ML22215A207 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Westinghouse |
| Issue date: | 07/29/2022 |
| From: | Office of Public Affairs |
| To: | |
| References | |
| News Release-22-028 | |
| Download: ML22215A207 (1) | |
Text
No: 22-028 July 29, 2022 CONTACT: David McIntyre, 301-415-8200 NRC Issues Final Environmental Study for Proposed License Renewal of Westinghouse Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued its final environmental impact statement regarding the proposed license renewal of Westinghouse Electric Co.s Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in Hopkins, South Carolina. Based on its environmental review, the NRC staff recommends renewing the license, subject to the determinations in the staffs safety review of the application.
The Columbia facility produces nuclear fuel for use in commercial nuclear power reactors.
Its license was issued by the Atomic Energy Commission in 1969 and was last renewed by the NRC in 2007 for a 20-year period. If the current request is granted, the facility would be authorized to operate for 40 years from the renewal date.
The report concludes that renewing the license would result in small impacts on all resources, except for groundwater and waste generation during decommissioning with small to moderate impacts.
The staff also considered a 20-year renewal period in its environmental review and concluded the impacts would be similar to those of a 40-year renewal but over a shorter timeframe.
The NRC published a draft environmental impact statement on Aug. 6, 2021. The staff conducted extensive outreach to communities near the facility, including an extended 105-day public comment period, a virtual public meeting, local newspaper and radio advertisements, direct mailings to residents and other measures. More than 70 people submitted comments, which are addressed in the final report.
The NRC will provide the final environmental impact statement to the Environmental Protection Agency for filing. Once the EPA publishes in the Federal Register a notice that it has received the document, the NRC must wait at least 30 days before issuing a licensing decision.
When it announces its decision, the NRC will also publish its final safety evaluation report detailing its technical review of the Westinghouse license renewal application.
More information regarding the Westinghouse Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility is available on the NRC website.