ML25265A246
| ML25265A246 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Peach Bottom  |
| Issue date: | 09/22/2025 |
| From: | NRC/OGC |
| To: | NRC/OCM |
| SECY RAS | |
| References | |
| RAS 57488, ASLBP 25-989-01-SLR-BD01, 50-278-SLR-2, 50-277-SLR-2 | |
| Download: ML25265A246 (0) | |
Text
September 19, 2025 OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION NOTIFICATION OF SIGNIFICANT LICENSING ACTION LICENSEE:
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3 License Nos. DPR-44 and DPR-56 Docket Nos. 50-277 and 50-278
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)
This notification is to inform the Commission that as directed by CLI-22-03, CLI-22-04, and CLI-22-07, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff has completed the environmental review of the subsequent license renewal (SLR) application for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3 (Peach Bottom). Specifically, the staff issued NUREG-1437, Revision 2, Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Final Report, dated August 2024 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS)
Package Accession No. ML24087A133) (the 2024 LR GEIS), and has supplemented NUREG-1437, Supplement 10, Second Renewal, Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station Units 2 and 3, Final Report, dated January 2020 (ML20023A937) (the 2020 Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement [FSEIS]), with NUREG-1437, Supplement 10, Second Renewal, Supplement 1, Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station Units 2 and 3, Final Report, dated August 2025 (ML25191A237) (the 2025 FSEIS supplement). Accordingly, on or about September 30, 2025, the staff will modify the expiration dates of Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-44 and DPR-56 for Peach Bottom, Units 2 and 3 to August 8, 2053, and July 2, 2054, respectively.
CONTACT:
Jessica Hammock, NRR/DNRL (301) 415-0740 The background regarding this NRC staff action is as follows. By letter dated March 5, 2020 (ML20010F285), the NRC issued Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License Nos.
DPR-44 and DPR-56 to Exelon Generation Company, LLC (now Constellation Energy Generation, LLC) (the applicant) for Peach Bottom, Units 2 and 3, with the expiration dates of 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 the 2020 FSEIS.
On February 24, 2022, the Commission issued CLI-22-02 (ML22055A496), CLI-22-03 (ML22055A526), and CLI-22-04 (ML22055A557). In CLI-22-02, the Commission concluded that NUREG-1437, Revision 1, Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Final Report, dated June 2013 (Package ML13107A023) (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 SLR applications for five nuclear power plants, did not consider SLR (i.e., it only considered initial license renewal). 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, and July 2, 2034, for Peach Bottom, Units 2 and 3, respectively), which the staff did by letter dated March 25, 2022 (ML22073A207), as corrected by letter dated April 8, 2022 (ML22096A298). The Commission affirmed this direction in CLI 07 (ML22154A217). 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.
In CLI-22-03, the Commission further directed the NRC 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 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 since the 2020 FSEIS. On May 30, 2025 (90 FR 23075), the staff published a notice of availability of the draft supplement, which was titled NUREG-1437, Supplement 10, Second Renewal, Supplement 1, Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station Units 2 and 3, 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, in its notice of availability of the draft supplement, the NRC staff also provided an opportunity to request a hearing specifically with respect to new information in the draft supplement. In response, Beyond Nuclear, Inc. and the Sierra Club, Inc. submitted a hearing request and request to hold the proceeding in abeyance until the completion of a separate federal court proceeding regarding the 2024 license renewal rulemaking and the 2024 LR GEIS (ML25210A563). On September 17, 2025, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board issued a memorandum and order denying the hearing request, denying the request to hold the proceeding in abeyance, and terminating the proceeding. This Board decision can be appealed to the Commission within 25 days of its issuance, and any such appeal will not be completed prior to the staffs modification of the expiration dates of the Peach Bottom licenses.
Based on the information gathered during the public comment period and any other new information received, the NRC staff amended the draft supplement, as necessary, and developed a final supplement. In August 2025, the staff issued the 2025 FSEIS supplement, which together with the 2024 LR GEIS and the 2020 FSEIS completes the staffs environmental review of the Peach Bottom SLR application. The staffs recommendation therein is that the 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 staffs consultation with Federal, State, local, and Tribal agencies; (4) the staffs independent environmental reviews, as summarized in the 2020 FSEIS and as reevaluated in the 2025 FSEIS supplement; and (5) the staffs consideration of public comments.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.102, Requirement to provide a record of decision; preparation, and 10 CFR 51.103, Record of decisiongeneral, the NRC staff is preparing a new record of decision related to the environmental review of the Peach Bottom SLR application, as supplemented. The record of decision will consider information available since the issuance of the 2020 FSEIS, as well as comments on the 2025 FSEIS supplement by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. The record of decision will be issued along with the issuance of the modified pages of the Peach Bottom licenses.
In sum, the Commission directed the NRC staff to modify the expiration dates of the Peach Bottom subsequent renewed facility operating licenses to match the expiration dates of the previous licenses until completion of the NEPA analysis and that analysis is now complete.
Therefore, the staff will reinstate the expiration dates of Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-44 and DPR-56 for Peach Bottom, Units 2 and 3 to August 8, 2053, and July 2, 2054, respectively.
NOTE: Information to be added after the modified license pages are issued.
Date modified license pages issued:
Date received by licensee:
Date the parties to the proceeding were notified:
ML25225A018 OFFICE PM: DNRL: NLRP LA: DNRL: NLRP BC: NMSS: REFS BC: NMSS: REFS NAME JHammock KBratcher KFolk SKoenick DATE 08/13/2025 08/14/2025 08/20/2025 08/19/2025 OFFICE BC: DNRL: NLRP OGC-NLO D: DNRL OD: NRR NAME LBauer JWachutka MSampson GBowman (JBowen for)
DATE 08/20/2025 09/18/2025 09/02/2025 09/02/2025 OFFICE EDO NAME MKing (SAtack for)
DATE 09/19/2025