ML25210A019
| ML25210A019 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Peach Bottom  |
| Issue date: | 09/30/2025 |
| From: | Gregory Bowman NRC/NRR/DNRL/NLRP |
| To: | Wilson C Constellation Energy Generation |
| References | |
| EPID L-2024-SLE-0003 | |
| Download: ML25210A019 (1) | |
Text
Christopher D. Wilson Director, License Renewal Constellation Energy Generation, LLC 200 Exelon Constellation Way Kennett Square, PA 19348
SUBJECT:
PEACH BOTTOM ATOMIC POWER STATION, UNITS 2 AND 3 COMPLETION OF SUBSEQUENT LICENSE RENEWAL ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND MODIFICATION OF SUBSEQUENT RENEWED FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NOS. DPR-44 AND DPR-56 IN ACCORDANCE WITH COMMISSION MEMORANDUM AND ORDER CLI-22-03 (EPID L-2024-SLE-0003)
Dear Christopher D. Wilson:
By letter dated March 5, 2020 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML20010F285), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) issued Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-44 and DPR-56 to Exelon Generation Company, LLC (now Constellation Energy Generation, LLC) for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3 (Peach Bottom), respectively. Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-44 and DPR-56 were set to expire on August 8, 2053, and July 2, 2054, respectively. The results of the NRCs environmental review related to the issuance of those licenses were summarized in a Record of Decision (ML20024G429) and were detailed in an environmental impact statement that was a supplement to NUREG-1437, Revision 1, Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Final Report (ML13107A023) (the 2013 LR GEIS), and that was entitled Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement 10, Second Renewal, Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station Units 2 and 3, Final Report, dated January 2020 (ML20023A937) (the 2020 FSEIS).
On February 24, 2022, the Commission issued Commission Legal Issuance (CLI)-22-02 (ML22055A496), CLI-22-03 (ML22055A527), and CLI-22-04 (ML22055A557). In CLI-22-02, the Commission concluded that the 2013 LR GEIS, on which the NRC staff had relied, in part, to meet its obligations under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 51, Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions, and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), for its environmental review of the subsequent license renewal (SLR) application for Peach Bottom, did not consider SLR. Therefore, in CLI-22-03 and CLI-22-04, the Commission determined that the staffs environmental review of the Peach Bottom SLR application was incomplete.
Accordingly, the Commission directed the staff to leave the Peach Bottom subsequent renewed facility operating licenses in place but to modify their expiration dates to reflect the expiration dates of the initial renewed facility operating licenses (i.e., August 8, 2033, for Peach Bottom Unit 2 and July 2, 2034, for Peach Bottom Unit 3), which the staff did by letter dated March 25, 2022 (ML22073A207), as corrected by letter dated April 8, 2022 (ML22096A298). The September 30, 2025
C. Wilson Commission affirmed this direction in CLI-22-07 (ML22154A217). In CLI-22-03, the Commission further directed the staff to update the 2013 LR GEIS so that it also covers the environmental impacts of nuclear power plant operation during the SLR period. The Commission stated that it believed the most efficient way to proceed would be for the staff to update the 2013 LR GEIS and then take appropriate action with respect to pending SLR applications, including the Peach Bottom SLR application, to ensure that the environmental impacts for the period of SLR are considered.
On August 6, 2024, the NRC published a final rule (89 FR 64166) revising its license renewal environmental review requirements at 10 CFR Part 51. The final rule was updated with a correction to Appendix B to Subpart A of 10 CFR Part 51 on August 21, 2024 (89 FR 67522).
The final rule updated the potential environmental impacts associated with the renewal of an operating license for a nuclear power plant for up to an additional 20 years, which could either be an initial license renewal or one term of SLR. As part of this update, the NRC updated the 2013 LR GEIS with NUREG-1437, Revision 2, Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Final Report (ML24087A133) (the 2024 LR GEIS), to account for new information and to address the impacts of initial license renewal as well as one term of SLR. The 2024 LR GEIS provides the technical basis for the final rule.
The license renewal environmental review final rule became effective for the NRC staff on September 5, 2024. Thereafter, consistent with the Commissions direction in CLI-22-03 and CLI-22-04 to complete the Peach Bottom SLR environmental review, the staff published a notice of intent to prepare a draft supplement to the 2020 FSEIS (90 FR 1201), which would consider the new and modified environmental issues in the final rule, as applicable, as well as any new and significant information. On May 30, 2025 (90 FR 23075), the staff published a notice of availability of the draft supplement, which was titled Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement 10, Second Renewal, Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station Units 2 and 3, Supplement 1, Draft Report for Comment (ML25111A147). The draft supplement was issued for a 45-day public comment period that ended on July 14, 2025. As directed by the Commission, the staff also provided an opportunity to request a hearing specifically with respect to new information in the draft supplement. One hearing request was received (ML25210A563).
On September 17, 2025, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board issued a memorandum and order denying the hearing request and terminating the proceeding. The staff considered all comments received on the draft supplement and the hearing request and prepared a final supplement, Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement 10, Second Renewal, Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station Units 2 and 3, Supplement 1, Final Report (ML25191A237). The NRC published a notice of availability of the final supplement on August 29, 2025 (90 FR 42278).
As discussed in Chapter 3 of the final supplement to the 2020 FSEIS, together the 2020 FSEIS and the final supplement complete the NRC staffs environmental review of the Peach Bottom SLR application. The final supplement incorporates new information available since publication of the 2020 FSEIS in January 2020. This information includes the new and revised environmental issues and impact determinations contained in the license renewal environmental review final rule and the 2024 LR GEIS. The staff also considered whether there was any new and significant information with respect to generic (i.e., Category 1) environmental issues and determinations that had the potential to affect the conclusions in the 2024 LR GEIS.
The NRC staffs recommendation resulting from its comprehensive environmental review documented in the 2020 FSEIS, as supplemented by the 2025 final supplement, is that the
C. Wilson adverse environmental impacts of Peach Bottom SLR are not so great that preserving the option of SLR for energy-planning decisionmakers would be unreasonable. This recommendation is based on: (1) the analysis and findings in the 2024 LR GEIS; (2) information provided in the applicants environmental report, as supplemented by additional information and other documents submitted by the applicant; (3) the NRC staffs consultation with Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies; (4) the NRC staffs independent environmental reviews, as summarized in the 2020 FSEIS and as reevaluated in the 2025 final supplement; and (5) the NRC staffs consideration of public comments. As stated in CLI-22-07, the Commissions ruling in CLI-22-04 did not disturb the staffs separate safety review of the Peach Bottom SLR application and neither did the 2025 final supplement to the 2020 FSEIS.
As directed by CLI-22-03, CLI-22-04, and CLI-22-07, the NRC staff has completed the environmental review of the Peach Bottom SLR application through the issuances of the 2024 LR GEIS and the 2025 final supplement to the 2020 FSEIS. Accordingly, the staff has modified Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-44 and DPR-56 to reinstate the expiration dates appropriate to the SLR term, which are August 8, 2053, and July 2, 2054, respectively. The modified pages of the licenses are provided as Enclosures 1 and 2 to this letter. Enclosure 3 contains the Record of Decision related to the Peach Bottom SLR application.
Please contact Jessica Hammock, Project Manager, at Jessica.Hammock@nrc.gov for questions involving the safety review of the Peach Bottom SLR application, or Kevin Folk, Senior Environmental Project Manager, at Kevin.Folk@nrc.gov for questions involving the environmental review. For all other licensing matters, please contact Audrey Klett, Senior Licensing Project Manager, at Audrey.Klett@nrc.gov.
Sincerely, Gregory T. Bowman, Acting Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-277 and 50-278
Enclosures:
1.
Page 16 of Peach Bottom, Unit 2 Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-44 2.
Page 15 of Peach Bottom, Unit 3 Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-56 3.
Record of Decision for Peach Bottom, Units 3 and 4 cc: Listserv Signed by Bowman, Gregory on 09/30/25
ML25209A020 (Pkg)
ML25210A019 (Letter)
ML25209A021 (Renewed License - Unit 2)
ML25209A022 (Renewed License - Unit 3)
ML25209A023 (Record of Decision)
- via eConcurrence NRR-106 OFFICE PM/NLRP/DNRL*
LA/NRLP/DNRL*
PM/ERLRB/REFS*
BC/ERLRB/REFS*
NAME JHammock KBratcher KFolk SKoenick DATE 07/29/2025 08/06/2025 08/01/2025 08/11/2025 OFFICE PM/LPLII-2/DORL*
BC/LPLII-2/DORL*
BC/NLRP/DNRL*
NAME AKlett HGonzalez JWachutka LGibson (LBauer for)
DATE 08/07/2025 08/07/2025 09/19/2025 08/11/2025 OFFICE D/DNRL*
D/NRR*
NAME MSampson GBowman DATE 09/30/2025 Page 16 of Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Unit 2 Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-44 ADAMS Accession No. ML25209A021 Page 15 of Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Unit 3 Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-56 ADAMS Accession No. ML25209A022 Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3 Record of Decision ADAMS Accession No. ML25209A023