Press Release-08-190, NRC Seeks Public Input on Environmental Impact Statement for Kewaunee Nuclear Plant License Renewal Application

Press Release-08-190: NRC Seeks Public Input on Environmental Impact Statement for Kewaunee Nuclear Plant License Renewal Application

ML082900265
Person / Time
Site:	Kewaunee
Issue date:	10/16/2008
From:	Office of Public Affairs
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Press Release-08-190
Download: ML082900265 (2)

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NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov Site: http://www.nrc.gov No.08-190 October 16, 2008 NRC SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR KEWAUNEE NUCLEAR PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will conduct public meetings on Wednesday, Oct. 22, in Kewaunee, Wis., to solicit public comments on possible environmental impacts of 20 additional years of operation at the Kewaunee nuclear power plant.

The Kewaunee Power Station has one pressurized water reactor, located 27 miles east of Green Bay. The plants operator, Dominion Energy Kewaunee Inc., submitted its license renewal application August 14.

Two meetings will be held at the Carlton Town Hall, N1296 Town Hall Rd., in Kewaunee County. The first session will run from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., and the second session from 7 to 10 p.m. Both sessions will follow the same agenda. An NRC open house will be held an hour prior to the start of each meeting to provide interested members of the public with an opportunity to talk informally with agency staff. However, formal comments must be expressed during the transcribed meetings.

Both sessions will start with an overview and an NRC staff presentation on the agencys review of license renewal applications, with special emphasis on the environmental review process. Following the presentation, audience members will be able to offer their comments on environmental issues they consider worthy of review as the agency reviews the Kewaunee application.

These public meetings are one of several opportunities for members of the public to participate in our evaluation of the application, said David Pelton, a branch chief in the NRCs Division of License Renewal. All of the comments we receive will be considered as we move forward with our review.

Under NRC regulations, the original operating license for a nuclear power plant has a term of 40 years. This license term was selected on the basis of economic and anti-trust considerations, not technical limitations. The license may be renewed for an

additional 20 years, provided that NRC requirements are met. The current operating license for Kewaunee is due to expire on Dec. 21, 2013.

The Kewaunee license renewal application is available on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/kewaunee.html.

The environmental report for the Kewaunee application will be a supplement to an existing NRC document, Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants (NUREG-1437), which assesses the scope and impact of environmental effects that would be associated with license renewal at any nuclear power plant site. The Kewaunee supplement will examine environmental impacts specific to the application and the locale.

Once a draft supplemental environmental impact statement is completed, the NRC staff will hold additional public meetings to solicit comments on the reports conclusions.

Those comments will be considered in the final report.

Additional information on the license renewal process is available on the NRCs web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/license-renewal-bg.html and http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html.

News releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address:

http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web site.