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 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
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PUBLIC SCOPING MEETING RELATED TO THE CLINTON POWER STATION LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION
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- THURSDAY, MAY 9, 2024
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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
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 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
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 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
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 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.
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 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
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 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
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 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
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 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
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 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 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.
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 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
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 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
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 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
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 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
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 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
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 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
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 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
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 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
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 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
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 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
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 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.
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 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
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 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
23 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 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
24 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 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
25 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 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
26 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 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
27 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 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
28 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 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
29 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 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
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 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.)