ML25007A222
| ML25007A222 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Saint Lucie  |
| Issue date: | 03/03/2025 |
| From: | Michele Sampson NRC/NRR/DNRL |
| To: | Mack K Florida Power & Light Co |
| References | |
| Download: ML25007A222 (1) | |
Text
Kenneth A. Mack, Director Licensing and Regulatory Compliance Florida Power & Light Company 5430 Endeavor Drive Jupiter, FL 33478
SUBJECT:
ST. LUCIE PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 - SCHEDULE REVISION FOR THE SUBSEQUENT LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION REVIEW (DOCKET NUMBERS: 50-335 AND 50-389)
Dear Kenneth Mack:
By letter dated August 3, 2021(Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Package (ADAMS) ML21215A314), as later supplemented. Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL) submitted an application for subsequent renewal of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos.
DPR-67 and NPF-16 for St. Lucie Plant, Units 1 and 2 (St. Lucie), respectively, to the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). FPL submitted the application for subsequent license renewal (SLR) pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 54, Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants.
By letter dated September 24, 2021 (ML21246A091), the NRC staff concluded that the application was acceptable for docketing and provided the staffs projected review schedule for the St. Lucie subsequent license renewal application (SLRA). The review schedule provided in that letter was subsequently revised, including the environmental review being put on hold following issuance of February 24, 2022, Commission Orders. The purpose of this letter is to inform you of updates to the current schedule for the NRC staffs St. Lucie SLRA review that were discussed with FPL on January 23, 2025.
On August 6, 2024, the NRC published a final rule in the Federal Register (FR) (89 FR 64166) revising its environmental protection regulations in 10 CFR Part 51, Environmental protection regulations for domestic licensing and related regulatory functions. The final rule was later revised with a correction to appendix B of 10 CFR Part 51, subpart A on August 21, 2024 (89 FR 67522). The final rule updates the potential environmental impacts associated with the renewal of an operating license for a nuclear power plant for up to an additional 20 years, for either an initial license renewal or a single SLR term. The NRC also published a revised Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants (NUREG-1437, Revision 2) (ML24087A133), which provides the technical basis for the final rule. While compliance by license renewal applicants is not required until 1 year from the August 2024 date of publication, the final rule became effective on September 5, 2024, for the NRC staff.
Therefore, the staff must now consider and analyze the environmental issues contained in the final rule and consider any new and significant information associated with the SLR application.
To complete the environmental review for SLR of St. Lucie, the NRC staff intends to prepare and issue for public comment a draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS)
(NUREG-1437, Supplement 11, Second Renewal) in accordance with 10 CFR 51.72. The draft March 3, 2025
K. Mack 2
SEIS will consider the environmental impacts of SLR for St. Lucie in accordance with the final rule and Revision 2 of NUREG-1437. The NRC staff published a notice of intent to prepare of a SEIS in accordance with 10 CFR 51.26(d) in the FR on October 22, 2021 (86 FR 58701). The NRC staff will issue a draft SEIS, will consider any comments received on the draft SEIS, and will publish the comments and the staffs responses thereto in a final SEIS. Completion of this process would culminate in the issuance of a record of decision regarding NextEras application for subsequent renewed licenses for St. Lucie Units 1 and 2, and issuance or denial of the requested licenses.
The NRC staff has completed its evaluation of the associated impacts of these developments on the St. Lucie SLRA review schedule and estimates that it can complete the work within the hours detailed in the NRC staffs September 24, 2021, letter. If there are emergent complexities or challenges in our review that would cause substantive changes to the initial forecasted completion date or significant changes in the forecasted number of hours, the reasons for the changes, along with the new estimates will be communicated via separate correspondence.
The revised review schedule for the St. Lucie SLRA is provided in the enclosure to this letter.
The NRC staff will strive to meet the milestones ahead of the revised schedule whenever feasible.
If you have any questions on this matter, please contact Vaughn Thomas for the NRC staffs safety review of the St. Lucie SLRA at Vaughn.Thomas@nrc.gov, or Lance Rakovan for the NRC staffs environmental review of the St. Lucie SLRA at Lance.Rakovan@nrc.gov.
Sincerely, Michele Sampson, Director Division of New and Renewed Licenses Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos.: 50-335 and 50-389
Enclosure:
As stated cc: Listserv Signed by Sampson, Michele on 03/03/25
ML25007A222 OFFICE REFS/EPMB1 LA:REFS DNRL/NLRP OGC NAME LRakovan AWalker-Smith VThomas STurk DATE 1/13/25 1/13/25 1/14/25 1/24/25 OFFICE BC:REFS/EPMB1 BC:DNRL/NLRP D:NRR/DNRL NAME SKoenick BRogers MSampson DATE 2/3/25 2/5/25 3/3/25 ST. LUCIE PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 SUBSEQUENT LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION REVIEW SCHEDULE From NRC Letter dated January 15, 2021 (as updated)
Milestone Previous Schedule Revised Schedule Actual Receive Subsequent License Renewal Application (SLRA) 08/2021 08/03/2021 Publish Federal Register Notice (FRN) - SLRA Availability 08/2021 08/10/2021 Publish FRN - Docketing Acceptance/Rejection and Opportunity to Request a Hearing 09/2021 09/29/2021 Publish FRN - Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping 10/2021 10/22/2021 Public Meeting - Overview of Subsequent License Renewal Process and Environmental Scoping 10/2021 11/03/2021 Environmental Scoping Period Ends 11/2021 11/22/2021 Deadline for Filing Hearing Requests and Petitions for Intervention 11/2021 11/29/2021 Issue Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) 10/2022 11/2025 Public Meeting - Draft SEIS Meeting, If Needed 11/2022 12/2025 End of DSEIS Comment Period 11/2022 1/2026 Issue Safety Evaluation (SE) 07/2023 07/21/2023 Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards Full Committee Meeting 09/2023 09/06/2023 Issue Final SEIS 05/2023 7/2026 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency FRN Published - Availability of Final SEIS 06/2023 7/2026 Decision - Director, NRR 07/2023 8/2026