Press Release-03-152, NRC Announces Hearing on Early Site Permit for the North Anna Site

Press Release-03-152: NRC Announces Hearing on Early Site Permit for the North Anna Site

ML033240190
Person / Time
Site:	North Anna
Issue date:	11/20/2003
From:	Office of Public Affairs
To:
References
Download: ML033240190 (2)

Text

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov/OPA No.03-152 November 20, 2003 NRC ANNOUNCES HEARING ON EARLY SITE PERMIT FOR THE NORTH ANNA SITE The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will be holding a hearing on an Early Site Permit (ESP) application from Dominion Nuclear for the North Anna site near Mineral, Virginia.

The Early Site Permit process allows an applicant to resolve site-related issues, such as environmental impacts, for possible future construction and operation of a nuclear power plant.

Dominions application was filed September 25.

If approved, the ESP would give Dominion up to 20 years to decide whether to build one or more nuclear plants on the site, and to file an application with the NRC for approval to begin construction. NRC staff have conducted an initial review of the application and determined it is acceptable for docketing. The full technical review of the application will address site safety, environmental protection, and plans for coping with emergencies, independent of the review of a specific nuclear plant design. Following that review and issuance of a safety evaluation and environmental impact statement, the Commission will hold a hearing on the matter.

The deadline for requesting participation in the hearing is 30 days from the date of publication of a Federal Register Notice on this subject, expected shortly. By that time, requests must be filed by anyone whose interest might be affected by the application and who wishes to participate as a party to the proceeding. The requests should include why the person filing should be permitted to intervene, as well as the specific aspects of the proceeding on which the person wishes to intervene. More detailed information on the hearing process and requirements for petitions requesting intervention are contained in the Federal Register Notice. Requests for leave to intervene in the hearing must be filed with the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff.

A copy of the Dominion ESP application is available through the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management Systems (ADAMS), by entering accession number ML032731517 on the agencys Web site at this address:

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html . Help in using ADAMS is available by contacting the NRC Public Document Room staff at 301-415-4737 or 800-397-4209, or by sending a message to pdr@nrc.gov via e-mail. The documents are also available for inspection at the NRCs Public Document Room in Rockville, Maryland.

For further information, contact Michael Scott, Senior Project Manager, New, Research and Test Reactors Program, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop O-4-D-9A, Washington, D.C. 20555; telephone 301-415-1421.