ML24135A216

May 7, 2024 Clinton Power Station Public Meeting Transcript

ML24135A216
Person / Time
Site:	Clinton
Issue date:	05/07/2024
From:	Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
To:
Shared Package
ML24135A363	List: ML24135A216 ML24135A217 ML24135A371 ML24135A372
References
NRC-2814
Download: ML24135A216 (23)

Text

Official Transcript of Proceedings NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Title:

Public Scoping Meeting Related to the Clinton Power Station License Renewal Application Docket Number:

50-461 Location:

Webinar Date:

Tuesday, May 7, 2024 Work Order No.:

NRC-2814 Pages 1-22 NEAL R. GROSS AND CO., INC.

Court Reporters and Transcribers 1716 14th Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20009 (202) 234-4433

1 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

+ + + + +

PUBLIC SCOPING MEETING RELATED TO THE CLINTON POWER STATION LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION

+ + + + +

TUESDAY, MAY 7, 2024

+ + + + +

The meeting was convened via Videoconference, at 6:00 p.m. EDT, Sheila Ray, Facilitator, presiding.

PRESENT:

SHEILA RAY, Facilitator; Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR)

STEVE KOENICK, Chief, Environmental Project Management Branch 1, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support (REFS), Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)

JOHN MOSES, Deputy Director, REFS, NMSS CHRISTOPHER TYREE, Safety Review Lead, NRR ASHLEY WALDRON, Environmental Review Lead, NMSS P-R-O-C-E-E-D-I-N-G-S (6:00 p.m.)

2 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com MS. RAY: Good evening, I have 6:00 p.m.,

so we will go ahead and get started. Karen, next slide, please. So welcome to the Environmental Scoping Meeting related to the Clinton Power Station license renewal application. My name is Sheila Ray and I will be serving as your meeting facilitator this evening. My role is just to help the meeting go smoothly and to achieve a common objective. Next slide please.

So our agenda today will be by providing an overview of a license renewal process. After this presentation, you'll have some time to ask clarifying questions about the information presented. After that comes the final and most important part of this webinar, where we'll open the virtual floor to receive your scoping comments. This is where you provide your input on what the NRC should consider to be in scope of the Environmental Review for Clinton's license renewal. Slide three, please.

So I'll just do some brief introductions, I will ask Chris to introduce himself. Chris, you're on mute.

MR. TYREE: Sorry about that. Hi, I'm Chris Tyree, and I am the Safety Review PM for this project.

3 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com MS. RAY: Thanks Chris. Ashley? You're on mute Ashley.

MS. WALDRON: Thank you so much. Ashley Waldron, NRC, I'm the Environmental Project Manager lead for this application.

MS. RAY: Thank you. John?

MR. MOSES: Hi everyone, my name is John Moses and I am the Deputy Director of the Division of Role Making, Environmental and Financial Support.

MS. RAY: Thank you. Steve?

MR. KOENICK: Yes I am Steven Koenick, I am the Branch Chief for the Environmental Project Management Branch One, in the Division of Role Making, Environmental and Financial Support, in NMSS. Thank you.

MS. RAY: Thank you so much. Next slide, please. So here are the overall logistics for our webinar today. This is a comment gathering webinar by the NRC's definition, so we're actively seeking your input. Please note that we're transcribing today's meeting so the NRC staff can be sure to get a full accounting of the comments you provide. Slide six, please. And I will turn it over to John.

MR. MOSES: Thank you, Sheila. I'd like to welcome you to our first Environmental Scoping

4 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com Meeting for the Clinton Power Station License Renewal Application. Before we begin today's presentation, I'd like to briefly introduce you to the NRC and its mission. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulates commercial nuclear power points, research, test, and training reactors, nuclear fuel cycle facilities, and the use of radioactive materials in medicine, academic, and industrial settings. The NRC was created by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, which separated the Former Atomic Energy Commission into a regulatory body, the NRC, and a promotional body, which became the Department of Energy. You can scan the QR code on the slide to see the agency's current strategic plan. If you have some free time, I'd encourage you to take a look.

The plan's three strategic goals are key to the agency successfully fulfilling its mission.

The agency's goals are broken down into strategic objectives, and the strategies to meet each goal and objective. Specifically the NRC's goals are to one, ensure the safe and secure use of radioactive materials, two, continue to foster a healthier organization, and

three, inspire stakeholder confidence in the NRC. For the third goal, stakeholder confidence, we use meetings like these to

5 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com include you in the NRC activities as transparently and as effectively as possible, and we learned during the pandemic that webinars or virtual meetings like this make our work accessible to a broad audience. Also, we've learned that holding meetings during different times like working hours may limit attendance, so what we've done is we've scheduled two virtual meetings for the Clinton meeting, and the first meeting today is in the evening, and the second evening later in the week will be held during the work day. And we appreciate hearing from you on how we're doing.

I look forward to hearing your insights and feedback on significant environmental issues that you feel are important for the staff to consider in their detailed analysis of issues to be included in our review of the applicant's environmental report.

We realize that local communities provide a unique perspective and knowledge of the area. Your comments are an integral part of the environmental process, which build off of public participation transparency.

Public participation, openness, and transparency are key to all of the NRC's responsibilities, including the licensing of nuclear facilities. Therefore, our goal is to hear from as many of you as possible and collect your comments that you might have so that we

6 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com may fully consider them during our environmental review. In advance of the rest of the meeting, I'd like to thank you, and with that I'd like to turn back to Sheila.

MS. WALDRON: Right, Sheila, I think I'm up next.

MS. RAY: Yes, Ashley, the floor is yours.

MS. WALDRON: All right, thank you. Thank you John, thank you Sheila. As mentioned, I'm Ashley Waldron, Lead Environmental Project Manager for the Clinton license renewal application. So Clinton Power Station Unit 1 was first licensed in September of 1986, and started commercial operations in April of 1987. The license for Clinton Unit 1 will expire on April 17th, 2027, and if renewal is granted, it will be for an additional 20 years from the date of expiration, so that would take us to April 17th, 2047.

Next slide, please.

Constellation Energy Generation submitted an application to the NRC for license renewal for Clinton on February 14th of this year. A license renewal application is required to contain general information such as the applicant's name and address, business and administrative information and technical information which pertains to aging management. This

7 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com is the focus of the safety review. The application also includes an environmental report, which the applicant's assessment of the environmental impacts of continued operation are provided. So this information serves as a starting point for the staff to review the environmental aspects of the license renewal for Clinton. I would like to now turn it over to Chris Tyree to cover the safety review. Next slide, please.

MR. TYREE: Thank you, Ashley. Once again, my name is Chris Tyree, and I'm the Safety Project Manager for the Clinton License Renewal Review. I'll walk us through the NRC's license renewal review process, as shown on this slide.

Starting from the left, the process begins once a license renewal application, or LRA, has been accepted for review. Then the process breaks out into two parallel reviews, the safety review, which you see on the top, and the environmental review, in the middle.

These two reviews evaluate separate aspects of the license renewal application.

On the safety side of the review, following the staff's review of the application, the Advisory Committee for Reactor Safeguards, or ACRS, completes an independent review of the application to make a recommendation to the Commission. At the

8 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com bottom of the flow chart, the dotted lines lead to hearings. The dotted lines represent the opportunity for a hearing in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act, which establishes a process for members of the public to request involvement in hearings on a variety of civilian nuclear matters, including license renewal. The Commission considers the outcome of the hearing's process in this decision on whether or not to renew the operating license. Finally, with inputs from the environmental review, ACRS recommendation on the safety review, as well as the staff's finding of the safety review, a final decision is made by the NRC. Next slide, please.

The Atomic Energy Act authorizes NRC to issue licenses for commercial power reactors to operate for up to 40 years. These licenses can be renewed for an additional 20 years at a time. This period following the initial licensing term is known as the period of extended operation. The purpose of the safety review is to identify aging effects that could impair the ability of the systems, structures, and components, SSCs, within the scope of license renewal to perform their intended functions, and to demonstrate that these aging effects will be adequately managed during the period of extended

9 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com operation. This scope has not changed from the initial licensing to the license renewal.

As previously mentioned, in February 2024, Constellation Energy Generation submitted the license renewal application for Clinton Unit 1. After receiving the application, the NRC conducted an acceptance review, the first step of our review. The NRC determined that the application was sufficient and acceptable for docketing on April 12, 2024. Then we move onto our technical review, which includes an aging management audit. The aging management audit consists of three parts, an in-office technical review audit, on-site audit, and breakout audit. During all phases of the audit, the NRC staff reviews the application, documents and references in great detail.

As part of the safety review, the staff also reviews the applicant's operating experience for information applicable to aging management. Following the audit, the audit report is issued. At the very end, the staff will document its review in a safety evaluation, or SE. Next slide, please.

The NRC ensures the adequate protection of public health and safety and the environment through the regulatory process, which is shown on this slide.

The regulatory process consists of five major

10 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com components. We develop regulations and guidance for applicants and licensees, license or certify applicants to either use nuclear material, operate nuclear facilities, or decommission, oversee licensee operations and facilities to ensure the licensees comply with safety requirements, evaluate operational experience at licensed facilities or involving license activities, and in support of our regulatory decisions we conduct research, hold hearings to address the concerns of parties affected by the agency's decisions, and obtain independent reviews. With license renewal, the regulatory process now considers aging management, as represented by the red block and arrow.

Now I'll turn the meeting back to Ashley Waldron, who will discuss the environmental review.

Next slide.

MS. WALDRON: Thank you, Chris. So the National Environmental Policy Act obligates federal agencies to consider the environmental impacts in federal actions. The NRC's specific environmental regulations are contained in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, found in part 51. The objective of our environmental review is to determine if the environmental impacts of license renewal are so great

11 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com that renewal would not be a reasonable option, or in other words, we're assessing if the renewal is unacceptable, from an environmental standpoint. Next slide.

Our environmental review considers the impacts of continued operations for the plant for an additional 20 years, and any proposed mitigation of those impacts. We would also consider the impacts of reasonable alternatives to the proposed action of license renewal, including the impacts of not issuing a renewed license. The staff documents its environmental review in an environmental impact statement. The staff has developed a generic environmental impact statement that addresses several issues, common to all nuclear power points. We call this the LR GEIS. The NRC is currently gathering the information necessary to prepare a supplemental EIS in which we will address issues that are specific to Clinton. The supplemental EIS will evaluate the environmental impacts of the license renewal for Clinton, and any reasonable alternatives. Next slide.

For the license renewal review, the NRC looks at a wide range of environmental impacts as part of preparing the environmental impact statement. We are looking for your comments in these areas as part

12 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com of our scoping process. Next slide. This slide is a good illustration of the different resource areas the staff reviews and considers as part of its environmental review, and what we look at in preparing our environmental impact statement. Next slide.

The environmental review begins with a scoping process, which is why we're here today, and the purpose of the scoping process is to identify significant issues that should be considered in the environmental review.

We are now gathering information that we'll use to prepare the environmental impact statement for the license renewal. As part of that process, today we'd like to collect your comments on the scope of the environmental review, that is the environmental impacts that the staff should consider in the areas illustrated on the previous slide. This scoping period starting on April 29, 2024, when a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS and conduct scoping was published in the Federal Register. The NRC will be accepting comments on the scope of the environmental review until May 29th, 2024.

In general, we're looking for information about the environmental impacts from continued operation of Clinton Unit 1 during the period of

13 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com extended operation. You can assist us in that process by telling us, for example, what aspects of your local community we should focus on, what

local, environmental, social, or economic issues the staff should consider, and what reasonable alternatives are most appropriate for your local region. These are just some examples of the input we're looking for, and they represent the kinds of information that we're seeking through the environmental scoping period.

Your comments today would be helpful in providing insight of this nature for the environmental analysis.

Next slide.

In conducting our environmental review, we coordinate and consult with various local, state, federal, and tribal officials to gather pertinent information from these sources to ensure that it's considered in our analysis. As illustrated on this slide, some of the consulting agencies that we work with are Fish and Wildlife, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation, and the State Historic Preservation Office. As part of the environmental review, the staff will hold public meetings to receive comments on the draft EIS, once available.

I will now discuss the environmental

14 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com scoping process in more detail. Next slide, please.

So here are the important milestones that the environmental review process will follow. If you have environmental scoping comments you'd like to submit outside of today's meeting, you'll have until May 29th to do so. There will be an additional webinar on Thursday during the day, that will be May 9th, at 1:00 p.m., Eastern, and based on our current schedule, we are planning to issue a

draft supplemental environmental impact statement for public comment by April of 2025. This is another way you can be involved in the process. Members of the public will have an opportunity to provide comments on the draft environmental impact statement.

While this slide lists the milestones for the environmental review and opportunities for public involvement, the safety review as Chris mentioned, will be performed in according with a separate schedule. Next slide, please. This slide identifies the primary points of contact within the NRC for the license renewal for Clinton Power Station Unit 1.

Next slide. So the public library listed here has agreed to make the license renewal application available for public inspection. The draft's supplemental environmental impact statement will also

15 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com be available at this library when it's published for comment. In addition, these documents will be on the NRC's public website. Next slide.

The most important piece of today's meeting is to receive any comments that you have regarding the scope of the environmental review. Here are the various ways you can submit your comments on our environmental review. You can provide written comments by mail to the NRC at the address listed here, or you can provide comments electronically by going to regulations.gov or via email as indicated on this slide. And again, all comments should be submitted by May 29th of this year. Next slide. So just a re-cap, the comment period ends the end of this month, comments will be considered in a scoping summary report, which we will issue in the summer of this year, and that would be provided to all the scoping participants. With that, that concludes my presentation, and I'll now turn it back over to Sheila.

MS. RAY: Thank you, Ashley. At this time we'll take any questions on the environmental scoping process and the materials that we just presented.

We'll take questions on that, then we'll move into the public comment period. So are there any questions on

16 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com the materials presented? I would ask, if you have a question, please raise your hand. All right, I see no hands raised, so we will move into the public comment period. Again, I'd ask that you please raise your hand, and if you are on the phone, you can press star five. I will take the folks in the order that they raise their hand. And I'd ask that if you could please introduce yourself with your name and your affiliation for the recording, that would be much appreciated. Josh, I see your hand is up. Please go ahead with your comment.

MR. SHOFNER: Thank you. Hello, my name is Josh Shofner, I am the President of First National Bank and Trust in Clinton, Illinois, DeWitt County, just a few miles away from the Clinton Clean Energy Center. So again, thank you for your time and consideration, the Clean Energy Center in Clinton is a cornerstone of DeWitt County in a number of ways, with over 14,000 acres in rural DeWitt County and a 5,000 acre cooling lake providing recreation open to the public, ultimately supports numerous local businesses, non-profits, environmental -- in addition to the economic support provided by the visitors and small businesses, with food, fuel, camping, honey, hiking industries, and a number of educational institutions

17 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com also to utilize the property. From state sanctioned fishing tournaments to collegiate rowing activities, the property is well respected for its safety record in the community and widely supported.

And they are diligent to support the local community financially in a number of ways that are impactful and meaningful. From the CEO high school education program to a YMCA Strong Kids Campaign that supports low-income members, as well as the Chamber of Commerce and numerous other events and non-profits.

Over 13 million dollars in tax revenue flows directly into our school districts, counties, libraries, and other local municipalities, with millions more of indirect impact to public bodies and small businesses.

DeWitt County, myself specifically, I support the past, present, and future of the Clean Energy Center. In addition to the financial support, they provide local emergency teams with necessary training and drills that can be leveraged for both the plant and non-plant emergencies. Again, I view the power plant as a cornerstone for DeWitt County residents, businesses, local governments, and non-

profits, and wholeheartedly support renewal application to continue to provide clean energy to central Illinois and beyond for the next 20 years.

18 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com Appreciate your time and consideration. Thank you.

MS. WALDRON: Sheila, you're on mute.

MS. RAY: Thank you. Please raise your hand. Josh, thanks for your comment, appreciate that.

And folks, if you could please raise your hand if you have a comment. And if you're on the phone, you can press star five. Are there other public comments?

Please feel free to raise your hand or press star five. And the raised hand, for those of you who may not be familiar with Teams, it is in the top bar, you'll see chat, raise, and there's a finger of a hand. Please press that if you'd like to make a comment, and on the phone, press star five. So feel free to raise your hand if you have a public comment.

I don't see any public comments. I'll take one last call for public comments. Again, raise your hand or press star five if you're on the phone.

So I see no other public comments, we can -- we will keep the meeting open for a bit longer, in case those folks maybe are joining later. We'll probably keep it open until about 7:00, but again, feel free to raise your hand if you have a public comment.

And just to review, if you'd like to make written comments, you can provide them by mail, at this address

given, on the website at

19 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com www.regulations.gov with the docket number, or an

email, clintonenvironmetal@nrc.gov, please note comments should be submitted by May 29th, and we will keep this slide open for those folks to write the information down. These slides are on the public meeting notice, the ML number is in the public meeting notice, so you can access all of this information. So any public comments, feel free to raise your hand or press star five, if you're on the phone.

So we will keep this meeting open until 7:00, but if you have a public comment or a question on the scoping process, please feel free to raise your hand on Teams, you can find it at the top bar, and if you are on the phone, please press star five. Once again, we are in the public comment period portion, comment gather portion of this meeting, if you have a public comment, please raise your hand on Teams, you'll find that at the top bar, and if you're on the phone, please press star five. And we will keep this meeting open until around 7:00 p.m. Eastern, in case there were other folks who were planning on joining us.

So if anyone is looking for where the documents can be found, they can be found on our website, at this web link, or at the public library in

20 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com Clinton, Illinois. Additionally, these slides are available on the public meeting notice, the ML number has been provided. We are in the public comment gathering portion of the meeting, if you have a public comment, please feel free to raise your hand on Teams, or on the phone, please press star five. We will leave this meeting open until around 7:00 p.m. to gather any public comments.

We're in the public comment gathering portion of the meeting, if you have a public comment, please feel free to raise your hand on Teams, or if you're on the phone, please press star five. Thank you, and we will keep this meeting open for approximately another 10 minutes.

All right, I will take another call for public comments, if you'd like to make a public comment, raise your hand on Teams or press star five.

And while you are all thinking, we welcome feedback on the public meeting. That can be provided online at https://feedback.nrc.gov/pmfs with a meeting code, and this public meeting's meeting code is 20240540. And with that, I will turn it over to John for closing remarks.

MR. MOSES: Thank you, Sheila. Good evening everyone, on behalf of the staff I want to

21 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com thank you for taking the time to attend tonight's virtual public meeting, and we appreciate your comments that you've shared tonight or intend to share either by email or regulations.gov. I'd like to briefly summarize our next steps. We are currently about halfway through our scoping period, and will accept your comments until May 29th, 2024. Our team will gather the comments that we've heard as well as any comments received by the

website, www.regulations.gov, at NRC-2024-0046. Also we'll accept postal mail and email comments. Then we'll compile all the comments, evaluate them, put them in kind of common groupings, and then issue a scoping summary report that will summarize the conclusions reached from the scoping process. We anticipate issuing the draft environmental impact statement in the Spring of 2025. Once we issue the draft environmental impact statement, we'll have another public meeting and comment period to receive additional input from you on that draft environmental impact statement.

So right now, we look forward to your comments once we've prepared that draft evaluation.

We appreciate tonight's meeting and your perspectives.

Even though this is an environmental scoping meeting,

22 NEAL R. GROSS COURT REPORTERS AND TRANSCRIBERS 1716 14th STREET, N.W., SUITE 200 (202) 234-4433 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20009-4309 www.nealrgross.com I want to make sure that everyone understands that any other issues that were brought up or will be brought up via email or through the web forum or post mail will get handled appropriately by the agency. Thank you for your comments, questions, and for taking the time to attend this meeting, and have a wonderful evening.

MS. RAY: Thanks, we are adjourned.

(Whereupon, the above-entitled matter went off the record at 6:54 p.m.)