Press Release-10-188, NRC Issues Final Environmental Impact Statement for Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant License Renewal Application

Press Release-10-188: NRC Issues Final Environmental Impact Statement for Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant License Renewal Application

ML102940067
Person / Time
Site:	Duane Arnold
Issue date:	10/20/2010
From:	Office of Public Affairs
To:
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Press Release-10-188
Download: ML102940067 (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.resource@nrc.gov Site: http://www.nrc.gov No.10-188 October 20, 2010 NRC ISSUES FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR DUANE ARNOLD NUCLEAR PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has issued its final supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for the proposed renewal of the operating license for the Duane Arnold Energy Center, located in Palo, Iowa, 8 miles northwest of Cedar Rapids. The report concluded there are no environmental impacts that would preclude license renewal for an additional 20 years of operation.

The Duane Arnold Energy Center has one boiling-water reactor. The current operating license expires Feb. 21, 2014. Duane Arnolds operator, FPL Energy Duane Arnold, submitted the license renewal application Oct. 1, 2008. Under NRC regulations, the original operating license for a nuclear power plant has a term of 40 years. The license may be renewed for up to an additional 20 years if NRC requirements are met. Therefore, if approved, the current operating license for Duane Arnold Energy Center would be extended until 2034.

As part of its environmental review of the application, the NRC held public meetings near the plant to discuss the review process and the draft version of the environmental impact statement. Comments were received and considered from members of the public, local officials, and representatives of state and federal agencies.

Publication of the final environmental impact statement does not represent final NRC action on the license renewal application. The agency staff has completed a safety evaluation report that is currently being evaluated by NRCs Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS). The ACRS will make its recommendation before the agency makes a final decision on whether to renew the operating license.

The final environmental impact statement is available on the NRCs website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1437/supplement42/index.html and can also be viewed in the NRCs ADAMS online documents system at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html by entering accession number ML102790308 in the search window.

Help in using ADAMS is available by contacting the NRCs Public Document Room at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at PDR.Resource@NRC.GOV.

The Duane Arnold license renewal application is posted at:

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/duane-arnold-energy-center.html.

Additional information about the license renewal process is available at:

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html.

Documents related to Duane Arnold are also located at the Hiawatha Public Library, 150 W. Willman St., Hiawatha, Iowa.

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 website.