ML24135A217
| ML24135A217 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Clinton  |
| Issue date: | 05/09/2024 |
| From: | Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML24135A363 | List: |
| References | |
| NRC-2815 | |
| Download: ML24135A217 (31) | |
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: Thursday, May 9, 2024
Work Order No.: NRC-2815 Pages 1-30
NEAL R. GROSS AND CO., INC.
Court Reporters and Transcribers 1716 14th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009 (202) 234-4433 1
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
+ + + + +
PUBLIC SCOPING MEETING RELATED TO THE CLINTON POWER
STATION LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION
+ + + + +
THURSDAY,
MAY 9, 2024
+ + + + +
The meeting was convened via
Videoconference, at 1:00 p.m. EDT, Sheila Ray,
Facilitator, presiding.
PRESENT:
SHEILA RAY, NRR/DEX/EEEB
STEVE KOENICK, NMSS/REFS/EPMB1
ASHLEY WALDRON, NMSS/REFS/EPMB1
MARK YOO, NRR/DNRL/NLRP
JOHN MOSES, NMSS/REFS
KAREN LOOMIS, NMSS/REFS/EPMB1
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 2
A-G-E-N-D-A
Introduction, Purpose, NRC Overview................3
License Renewal Overview...........................3
Safety Review......................................8
Environmental Review..............................12
Public Scoping Comments on Topics to be
included in the Clinton LR Environmental
Review......................................18
Closing Remarks...................................29
Adjourn...........................................30
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 3
P-R-O-C-E-E-D-I-N-G-S
1:00 p.m.
MS. RAY: Good afternoon, everyone. I
have 1:00 p.m., so we will go ahead and get started.
Next slide, please. Welcome to the
Environmental Scoping Meeting related to the Clinton
Power Station license renewal application.
Next slide, please. Our agenda today will
be providing an overview of the license renewal
process. After this presentation, you will 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 will open the
virtual floor to receive your scoping comments. This
is where you provide your input on what the NRC should
consider in the scope of NRC's environmental review
for the Clinton license renewal.
Next slide, please. And I will turn it
over to Steve for introductions.
MR. KOENICK: Okay, great. So my name is
Steven Koenick, and I am a branch chief in our
Environmental Center of Expertise at the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission. And I'd like to welcome you to
or second environmental scoping meeting for the
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 4
Clinton Power Station license renewal application.
Some brief introductions, Mark Yoo, he is
the senior project manager on the safety side.
Ashley Waldron, she's the environmental
project lead, and she's going to be doing most of the
presentation.
John Moses, the deputy director for the
Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial
Support, is with us.
And once again, I'm Steven Koenick, a
chief, actually of the Environmental Project
Management Branch 1.
Are you going to do the meeting purpose,
and then I'll go --
MS. RAY: Yes. So for our webinar today,
this is a comment gathering webinar by 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.
And I'll ask when you make your comment
that you please state your name and affiliation. But
we'll get to that.
Steve, I will turn it over to you for
opening remarks.
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 5
MR. KOENICK: Okay. So if you want to go
ahead, there we go -- so before we get into our
presentation on the license renewal of Clinton, I'd
like to briefly introduce you to the NRC and its
mission.
The NRC regulates commercial nuclear power
plants, research and test and training reactors, and
nuclear fuel cycle, and the use of a radioactive
materials in medicine, academia, and industrial
settings.
The NRC was created by the Energy
Reorganization Act of 1974 which basically separated
the former Atomic Energy Commission into a regulatory
entity with NRC and a promotional body which became
the Department of Energy.
We've included a QR code on the slide, and
that is of the NRC's current strategic plan. And the
plan's three strategic goals are key to the agency
successfully performing its mission. And the goals
are broken down into strategic objectives and then
strategies to meet the goals and objectives.
Specifically, these goals are, the first
goal is to ensure the safe and secure use of
radioactive materials. The second goal is to continue
to foster a healthy organization within NRC. And the
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 6
last goal is to inspire stakeholder confidence in the
NRC.
For the third goal, stakeholder
confidence, we use meetings like these to
appropriately include you in NRC activities as
effectively and transparently as possible.
We learned during the pandemic that
webinars, or virtual meetings, make our work more
widely accessible to a broader audience. We've also
learned that holding meetings during working hours may
limit attendance. So to increase public access and
participation, we scheduled two virtual meetings for
Clinton.
The first meeting was held on Tuesday in
the evening, while this meeting is scheduled during
the working hours. We always like to hear --
appreciate hearing feedback on how we're doing in this
regard.
So I'm looking forward to hearing your
insights on the significant environmental issues that
you feel are important to the staff to consider in
their detailed analysis of issues to be included in
our review of the Applicant's environmental input.
We realize that local communities provide
unique perspective and knowledge of the area. Your
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 7
comments are an integral part of the environmental
process which build on public participation and
transparency -- public participation and openness,
excuse me, and transparency are key to 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 comments you may
have so that we may fully consider them during our
environmental review.
Once again, thank you in advance for your
participation. With that, I will turn this Ashley
Waldron.
MS. WALDRON: All right. Thank you,
Steve, and good afternoon. 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 commercial
operations began in April of 1987. The license for
Clinton, Unit 1 will expire on April 17th, 2027. And
if a renewal is granted, it will be for an additional
20 years from the date of expiration. So that would
put it at April 17th, 2047.
Next slide, please. So Constellation
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 8
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, technical information which pertains to
aging management. This information is the focus of
the safety review.
And the application also includes an
environmental report which is the applicant's
assessment of the environmental impacts of continued
operation. This information serves as a starting
point for the staff to review the environmental
aspects of the license renewal for Clinton.
I'm going to now turn it over to Mark to
cover the safety review. Next slide, please.
MR. YOO: Thank you, Ashley. Once again,
my name is Mark Yoo. I am a safety project manager
here at the NRC, and I am presenting for Chris Tyree,
who is the safety project manager for the Clinton
License Renewal Review who could not be here today.
I will now walk us through the NRC's
license renewal review process as shown on this slide.
Starting from the left, the process begins once the
license renewal application for LRA has been accepted
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 9
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
On the safety side of the review,
following the staff's review of the application, the
Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, or ACRS,
completes an independent review of the application to
make a recommendation to the Commission.
At the bottom of the flow chart, 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 process in its decision on whether or not
to issue a renewed operating license. Finally, with
inputs from the environmental review, ACRS's
recommendation on the safety review, as well as the
staff's finding from the safety review, a final
decision is made by the NRC.
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 10
Next slide, please. The Atomic Energy Act
authorizes the NRC to issue licenses for commercial
power reactors to operate for up to 40 years. These
licenses can then 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 system structures and components 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 operation. This scope has not changed from
initial licensing to 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, first step of our review. The NRC
determined that the application was sufficient and
acceptable for docketing on April 12th, 2024.
Then we move on to our technical review
which includes an aging management audit which
consists of three parts, the in-office technical
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 11
review audit, onsite audit, and breakout audit.
During all phases of the audit, the NRC staff reviews
the application, documents, and references in greater
detail.
As part of the safety review, the staff
also reviews the Applicant's operating experience for
information applicable to age management. Following
the audit, an 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 components.
We develop regulations and guidance for
applicants and licensees, license or certify
applicants to either use nuclear materials, operate
nuclear facilities, or decommission, oversee licensee
operations and facilities to ensure that licenses
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
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 12
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 will turn the meeting back to
Ashley Waldron who will discuss the environmental
review.
MS. WALDRON: Thank you, Mark. So the
National Environmental Policy Act obligates federal
agencies to consider 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 that renewal would not be
a reasonable option. In other words, we're assessing
if renewal is unacceptable from an environmental
standpoint.
Next slide. Our environmental review
considers the impacts of continuing to operate 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
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 13
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 plants. We call this the LR GEIS.
The NRC is gathering the necessary
information to prepare a supplemental environmental
impact statement in which we will address issues that
are specific to Clinton. The supplemental EIS will
evaluate the environmental impacts of license renewal
for Clinton and any reasonable alternatives.
Next slide. For a license renewal review,
the NRC looks at a wide range of environmental impacts
as part of preparing the Environmental Impact
Statement. Some of those areas we are seeking your
comments on as part of the scoping process are listed
here on this slide.
Next slide. This slide is a good
illustration of the different resource areas the staff
reviews as part of its Environmental Impact Statement.
Next slide. The environmental review
begins with the scoping period which is why we're here
today. The purpose of the scoping process is to
identify significant issues that should be considered
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 14
in the NRC's environmental review. We are now
gathering information that will be used to prepare the
Environmental Impact Statement for the license
renewal.
As part of that process today, we would
like to collect your comments on the scope of the
environmental review. That is the environmental
impact staff should consider in the areas illustrated
on that previous diagram.
We are looking for information about
environmental impacts of continued operation for
Clinton, Unit 1 during the period of 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, and economic issues the NRC
staff should examine during its environmental review,
and what reasonable alternatives are most appropriate
for your local region.
These are some of the examples we're
looking for and the kinds of information we're
seeking. Your comments would be helpful in providing
insight of this nature for the environmental analysis.
The scoping period started on April 29th
when a notice of intent to prepare and EIS and conduct
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 15
scoping was published in the Federal Register. The
NRC is now accepting comments on the scope of its
environmental review until May 29th, 2024.
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 it's considered in our analysis.
As illustrated on this slide about
consulting agencies, examples include Fish and
Wildlife, the Environmental Protection Agency, the
Advisory Counsel for Historic Preservation, and the
State Historic Preservation Office.
As part of our review, the staff will hold
public meetings to receive comments on our draft EIS
once available.
Next slide. So this slide lists the
important milestones and target dates that our
environmental review will follow. If you have
environmental scoping comments, you would like to
submit outside of today's meeting, you will have until
May 29th to do so. And I'll let you know how you can
go about doing that in the next few slides.
Based on our current schedule, we plan to
issue a draft Supplemental Environmental Impact
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 16
Statement for comment in April of 2025. This is
another way you can be involved in the process.
Members of the public will have an opportunity to
provide their comments on that report.
While this slide lists the milestones for
the environmental review and opportunities for public
involvement, I do want to note that the safety review
will be performed according a separate schedule.
Next slide, please. So this slide just
lists the primary points of contact within the NRC for
the license renewal application of Clinton Power
Station, Unit 1.
Next slide. And the public library listed
here has agreed to make the license renewal
application available for public inspection. And the
draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement will
also be available at this public library when it's
published. And then in addition, you can find more
information on the NRC's public website listed here.
Next slide. So the most important piece
of today's meeting is to receive any comments that you
have regarding the scope of the NRC's environmental
review. There are various ways you can submit
comments. You can provide them in writing by mail to
the address listed above. Or you can send your
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 17
comments electronically by going regulations.gov and
using that docket ID number on the screen. And you
can also submit them via email at
clintonenvironmental@nrc.gov.
So again, comments should be submitted by
April 29th, 2024. That's when the scoping period will
end.
Next slide. So any comments received
during the scoping period will be considered and
captured in a scoping summary report, and participants
that provide comments will receive a copy. We expect
that to be available in summer of 2024.
And with that, that concludes my
presentation. I'm going to turn it back over to
Sheila. Thank you.
MS. RAY: Thanks, Ashley. So before we
get into the public comment period, I'd like to ask
are there any questions on the materials that we just
presented on the license renewal process?
If you have a clarifying question, please
raise your hand in Teams, that is on the top bar.
You'll see chat, people, and raise, with a little
hand. You can press the hand button. Or if you're on
the phone, you can press Star 5. So at this time, any
questions on the materials presented on the license
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 18
renewal process?
Okay, seeing no hands raised, we will move
to the public comment period. So at this time, we
will take your public comments. Please be sure to
state your name and affiliation for the record. Once
again, please raise your hand or press Star 5.
Mike, please go ahead.
SHERIFF WALKER: All right. Can you hear
me now?
MS. RAY: Yes.
SHERIFF WALKER: Okay, yes. So, I'm Mike
Walker, Dewitt County Sheriff. Just wanted to comment
that I know a lot of people are going to be focusing
on the budgetary impact, and the economy, and things.
But one of the things that a lot of people don't
realize is that every two years my office, and fire
departments, and the law enforcement agencies in about
every municipality within the EPZ have a drill to
prepare for a nuclear accident.
Not only does it prepare for those type of
nuclear incidents, but it also prepares us for natural
disasters or man-made incidents. For example, we most
recently used some of the training we received and
knowledge we have in September of last year when we
had a domestic violence situation where a man was shot
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 19
outside of Kenney.
We weren't sure where the individual was,
so we had to set up a command post in the Kenney Fire
Station, and it made it a lot simpler and a lot easier
by using the things that we used in the Emergency
Operations Center during these drills.
So not only are we prepared for an
incident at the nuclear power plant, but it also helps
us prepare for other incidents that may occur here in
the county. So I just wanted to let the people making
these decisions that we can -- we use this for not
only the power plant but just to keep our citizens,
and visitors to the lake, and other areas of the
county safe.
MS. RAY: Thank you, Mike, appreciate the
comment.
Taylor, please go ahead.
MR. BAXTER: Hey, everybody. My name is
Taylor Baxter. I am the city administrator for the
city of Clinton. And the impact that the station has
on the city of Clinton is found in a number ways.
Like Sheriff Walker mentioned, we partner with them on
that exercise, and we do utilize those in different
areas. So he explained it very well, and I won't go
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 20
any further on that.
But just the amount of involvement that
the power station has in our community, since 2023
Clinton Station employees donated over $150,000 to
non-profits and volunteered over 2,000 hours0 days <br />0 hours <br />0 weeks <br />0 months <br /> in about
two and a half months.
We also have the University of Illinois.
And I don't know if Curt Homann's on here, but he can
take credit for this one, but the University of
Illinois Rowing Club, they used the Clinton Lake for a
practice in regional competitions. And as you guys
can imagine, the recreational activities, hunting,
camping, hiking, fishing, all sorts of things have a
huge economic impact --
(Audio interference.)
MR. BAXTER: -- it's been reported to me
that we receive about a million visitors a year. And
without this station here and the lake, the city of
Clinton would be in drastically different position as
well as the county.
So we really appreciate our partnership
with the Clinton Power Station, and we fully support
the renewal of this application.
MS. RAY: Thank you, Taylor, appreciate
your comment.
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 21
Dan, go ahead. Dan, the floor is yours.
MR. MATTHEWS: Good afternoon. This is
Dan Matthews. I'm the Dewitt County Board Chairman,
and I also serve on the school board. Both Sheriff
Walker and Taylor have talked (audio interference)
very best friends' father was the plant manager in
1978.
I gave him a call this morning, told him I
would be participating in this call, and the one thing
that he talked about, and what meant so much to our
county, is the employees that have worked at the
plant.
We have multi-generation families that
have been employed there. Another 20 years gives
another generation of local residents the opportunity
to also work at the plant. They've been a great
partner throughout all of the years that they've been
part of our community. And, you know, I could go on.
We did mention, you know, the tax base
alone, especially with schools, allows us to bring a
lot of programs that we would not be able to do in a
small community.
We don't have to worry about, as much as
other school districts, as far as where the funds are
coming from. We can add resources to help our
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 22
teachers, our students, and we, you know, hopefully
continue to have that relationship. And the renewal,
obviously, would allow that to happen for us.
So as of today, just look for clean,
reliable energy to have a plant in Clinton. Although
it's 40-some years old, obviously it's some of the
newest technology that we have out there. And, you
know, many other plants are even on the second
renewals. So we certainly hope that the Clinton Plant
will get renewed and continue our relationships moving
forward.
MS. RAY: Thank you for your comment, Dan.
Other comments, please raise your hand or press Star
5 if you're on the phone.
Philip, please go ahead, the floor is
yours.
MR. HULT: Good afternoon, thank you for
taking the time to involve the public in these
important matters. My name is Philip Hult, I'm with
Generation Atomic, and I am also an environmentalist.
And although I'm not local to the Clinton area, I am
concerned about decarbonization and our global future.
And I would like to ask that the NRC
investigate thoroughly and make comments in its
Environmental Impact Statement about the potential
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 23
impacts of non-issuance of a renewal.
In every case we have seen that nuclear
power plants are closed, they're replaced with fossil
fuel generating facilities which increase carbon
emissions globally. This impact is non-negligible.
And especially in the Chicago land area,
where efforts to reduce current electrical generation
from coal are subject to the delays, we've already
seen coal plants extending operations, as MISO
projects, that the grid may not be able to meet its
capacity needs in the future.
So I encourage the NRC, in its
Environmental Impact Statement, to strongly consider
the negative environmental consequences of not issuing
a renewal. Thank you.
MS. RAY: Thank you for your comment,
Philip.
Janice, the floor is yours. Janice, you
might be on mute.
MS. PETERSEN: Is that better?
MS. RAY: Yes. There you go.
MS. PETERSEN: Okay. I didn't click it
fully, sorry.
I'm Janice Petersen, the executive
director of the Clinton Chamber of Commerce. We are a
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 24
very small Chamber, we are non-profit. And the
Clinton Power Station has been one of our biggest
supporters. They help fund some of our programs that
we have, our events that we host.
We are a big tourism area, as Taylor has
said and as Mike has said. We appreciate the fact
that our tourists can use the lake as a big
environmental and an economical boost for Clinton.
So I don't have a whole lot to say other
than that the Chamber of Commerce really encourages
the renewal of the power station license.
MS. RAY: Thank you, Janice, appreciate
your comment.
I don't see anyone in the queue. Once
again, please raise your hand in Teams or press Star
5.
Curtis, the floor is yours. Curtis,
you're -- there you go.
MR. HOMANN: Okay. Yes, hi. Good
afternoon, my name is Curt Homann. And I'm the
economic development director for Dewitt County. I
also serve in a role with the local hospital, Warner
Hospital, which of course is the home of the Clinton
Clean Energy Facility.
I'm here in support of the application for
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 25
the Clinton Facility. From an economic standpoint
the 14,000-plus acres serves as a real destination for
area visitors. The lake and its many recreational
areas attracts many regular visitors to the area
annually which provides a tremendous boost to the
area's economy.
The lake is also used by high school
fishing teams, as well as adults, and is home to
several fishing tournaments. The lake is also, as
mentioned earlier, is home for to Illinois Rowing
Teams and annually holds a large collegiate rowing
event as well as high school rowing events as well.
The nuclear facility has been a great
community neighbor and partner, helping to support
many local programs. The support is broad-reaching,
and diverse, and supports programs that impact most
all residents of the county. Programs include Chamber
of Commerce activities, health and fitness activities,
and many more activities that support the economic,
cultural, and physical health of the communities.
Additionally, the facility pays
approximately $13 and a half million in property taxes
which of course supports local taxing bodies such as
the school districts and other local governments.
Another benefit, of course, is the
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 26
facility supports local employment with good paying
jobs that support families throughout the region.
On a personal note, I have never felt
unsafe as a life-long resident of Dewitt County having
a nuclear facility in my backyard, nor have I heard
anyone express any concerns over the years that it's
been here of any unsafe feelings because of the plant
here.
Clinton and Dewitt County are very
fortunate to have the clean energy facility as part of
its community. I highly support and encourage the
approval of the renewal application and look forward
to Clinton Power Station facility as a member of our
community for many decades to come. So thank you very
much.
MS. RAY: Thank you, Curtis.
So if you have a public comment, please
raise your hand in Teams or press Star 5 if you're on
the phone.
(Pause.)
Just as a reminder, Karen, maybe we can
move to the slide where the documents are available.
Thank you. The documents are available at the library
as well as the NRC website, just as a reminder.
Other public comments, please raise your
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 27
hand in Teams or press Star 5 if you're on the phone.
So we will leave this meeting open approximately 15
more minutes, unless there are public comments.
We can cover, again, how to submit public
comments. You may provide them by USPS mail at this
address or on the website at regulations.gov, where
you will need the docket ID as listed here, or via
email at clintonenvironmental@nrc.gov.
And as a reminder, comments should be
submitted by May 29th. So once again, any public
comments, please raise your hand in Teams, or if
you're on the phone, press Star 5.
And as a reminder, we can discuss how this
transcript of this meeting will be used. I will ask
Ashley to cover that.
MS. WALDRON: Sure, thanks, Sheila. Yes,
so this meeting is being transcribed. We're going to
be capturing all public comments received during this
meeting, and those will be incorporated and looked at
into our review and then also captured in a scoping
summary report that we will issue in a few months from
now.
MS. RAY: Thank you. So any other public
comments? We will be here until about 1:50 to take
public comments. Please raise your hand in Teams or
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 28
press Star 5 if you're on the phone.
(Pause.)
MS. RAY: Additionally, if there are any
questions on the license renewal process, we can take
those.
(Pause.)
MS. RAY: Karen, maybe we can go to the
public comment slide where we have the raised hand,
please. Thank you. Once again, we're welcoming
public comments. Feel free to raise your hand or
Press Star 5.
(Pause.)
MS. RAY: And we will plan to adjourn
shortly before 2:00 if there are no public comments,
but we will hang out here for a little bit longer for
anything that crosses your mind.
(Pause.)
MS. RAY: Once again, if there are any
public comments, please raise your hand in Teams or
press Star 5 is you're on the phone.
(Pause.)
MS. RAY: As a reminder, submitting
comments, you can provide, excuse me, written comments
by mail at the address shown here, online at
http://www.regulations.gov, with the docket ID, or via
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 29
email at clintonenvironmental@nrc.gov. Comments need
to be submitted by the 29th of May.
(Pause.)
MS. RAY: So we'll take one last call for
public comments. If you have a comment, please raise
your hand in Teams or press Star 5 if you're on the
phone.
(Pause.)
MS. RAY: Seeing no public comments, I
will turn it over to Steve for closing remarks.
(Pause.)
MR. KOENICK: Okay, thank you, Sheila.
And on behalf of the staff, I want to thank everyone
for taking the time to attend today's virtual public
meeting and for your very thoughtful comments.
I'd like to briefly summarize our next
steps. As we mentioned, we're currently about half-
way through our scoping period. And we'll accept your
comments until May 29th. We've already provided
several -- repeated several times the ways you can
provide your written comments, and we will also be
looking at the transcript for the comments that you
provided today.
We'll summarize these, the comments
received during scoping, and we'll prepare a scoping
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 30
summary report that will be issued in a few months.
We anticipate issuing a draft Environmental Impact
Statement in the spring of 2025.
Once we issue the draft Environmental
Impact Statement, we'll be holding other public
meetings and having comment periods to hear from you
on comments on the draft itself.
So once again, thank you for your comments
and taking the time to attend today's meeting. So I
want to wish you all a wonderful afternoon. Thank
you.
MS. RAY: Thank you. And this meeting is
adjourned.
(Whereupon, the above-entitled matter
went off the record at 1:47 p.m.)
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