ML24206A107
| ML24206A107 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Palisades  |
| Issue date: | 07/23/2024 |
| From: | Robert Lewis - No Known Affiliation |
| To: | Office of Administration |
| References | |
| NRC-2024-0076, 89FR53659 00030 | |
| Download: ML24206A107 (1) | |
Text
PUBLIC SUBMISSION As of: 7/24/24, 7:25 AM Received: July 23, 2024 Status: Pending_Post Tracking No. lyz-046k-dzh4 Comments Due: July 29, 2024 Submission Type: API Docket: NRC-2024-0076 Notice of Intent to Conduct Scoping Process and Prepare an Environmental Assessment Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC and Holtec Palisades, LLC; Palisades Nuclear Plant, Unit 1 Comment On: NRC-2024-0076-0001 Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC, and Holtec Palisades, LLC; Palisades Nuclear Plant; Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping Process and Prepare an Environmental Assessment Document: NRC-2024-0076-DRAFT-0030 Comment on FR Doc # 2024-14112 Submitter Information Name: Raymond Lewis Address:
Covert, MI, 49043 Email:thebigdoggie@yahoo.co.nz Phone:3128239345 General Comment See attached file(s)
Attachments Comment_on_Docket No_NRC-2024-0076 7/24/24, 7:25 AM blob:https://www.fdms.gov/0c652b06-fffe-4e66-8aec-c9fcedf2717c blob:https://www.fdms.gov/0c652b06-fffe-4e66-8aec-c9fcedf2717c 1/1 SUNSI Review Complete Template=ADM-013 E-RIDS=ADM-03 ADD: Laura Willingham, Mary Richmond, Antoinette Walker-Smith, Marlayna Doell, Mary Neely Comment (30)
Publication Date:6/27/2024 Citation: 89 FR 53659
Comment From Raymond J Lewis on Scope of Environmental Review of Holtecs Request to Restart Palisades Nuclear Plant Docket ID NRC-2024-0076 July 23, 2024 I am Raymond J. Lewis, a resident of Palisades Park, the residential community abutting Palisades Nuclear Plant (PNP) to the south. My family has owned our property since 1933 and I have been enjoying our community for all of the nearly 60 years of my life. Our home existed at the time PNP began operations in 1971 so I am very familiar with living near a nuclear power plant and even more familiar with the history of this particular plant.
I was relieved when the plans were announced that the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant was going to be permanently decommissioned. After all, the plant was in chronic financial distress, there was significant deferred maintenance and it had a long history of safety violations.
Now, I am told that the new owner Holtec wants to bring this troubled facility back on line - a feat that I understand has never been attempted let alone successfully accomplished. I find this prospect terrifying, particularly in light of the fact unlike a new plant or an existing plant, there are no existing protocols to ensure that an obsolete plant with a history of safety issues can safely be re-commissioned.
It is for reason that the NRC must follow its Congressionally-mandated oversight responsibilities over the Palisades Nuclear Plant and conduct a thorough environmental impact study that is at least as comprehensive as what the NRC requires for an operating plant applying to renew its license or expand its facilities.
To my knowledge, no one has ever received a license to restart a decommissioned nuclear plant. It seems obvious on its face that attempting to restart a plant that was so functionally obsolete it was deemed better to shut down than repair presents risks and uncertainties far greater than extending the license of an existing compliant nuclear plant. As if this werent risky enough, it is my understanding that Holtec has never operated a nuclear power plant. If the EPA requires an environmental impact study when renewing the license of an operating plant with an experienced operator, why wouldnt the EPA (and the NRC and DOE) require at least as much to recommission an obsolete plant with a checkered operating history?
Ill end on this thought. According to the EPAs website, the great lakes account for 84% of the US surface fresh water. God forbid that something goes horribly wrong as this inexperienced operator executes and untested re-commissioning process and causes contamination to this vital and strategic national resource. The ramifications would likely be apocalyptic for our country. Does anyone at the EPA, NRC or DOE want to sit in front of a congressional committee and attempt to explain why their department failed to perform at least the same level of environmental impact study as they would perform for a basic license renewal? Its a question that answers itself.