Press Release-11-002, NRC Issues Final Safety Evaluation Report for Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant License Renewal

Press Release-11-002: NRC Issues Final Safety Evaluation Report for Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant License Renewal

ML110030812
Person / Time
Site:	Palo Verde
Issue date:	01/03/2011
From:	Office of Public Affairs
To:
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Press Release-11-002
Download: ML110030812 (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.11-002 January 3, 2011 NRC ISSUES FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR PALO VERDE 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 Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Stations Units 1, 2 and 3 in Maricopa County, Ariz. The report concluded there are no environmental impacts that would preclude license renewal for an additional 20 years of operation.

Arizona Public Service Company (APS) submitted an application to the NRC dated December 2008 to extend the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station licenses by 20 years for each unit. Under NRC regulations, the original operating license for a nuclear power plant has a term of 40 years. The current operating licenses for Palo Verdes Units 1, 2 and 3 expire on June 1, 2025, April 24, 2026, and Nov. 25, 2027, respectively.

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 is also finalizing its safety evaluation report (SER) on the Palo Verde license renewal. The NRCs Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS), an independent body of experts that advises the Commission on reactor safety matters, will review the SER and make its recommendations before the agency makes a final decision on whether to renew the operating license.

The Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Stations Units 1, 2 and 3, final supplemental environmental impact statement is available on the NRCs website at:

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1437/supplement43/ 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 ML103560149 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 Palo Verde license renewal application is posted at:

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/palo-verde.html. Additional information about the license renewal process is available at:

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

Documents related to Palo Verdes license renewal are also located at the following locations: Litchfield Park Branch Library, 101 West Wigwam Blvd., Litchfield Park, Ariz.; and Sam Garcia Western Avenue Library, 495 East Western Ave., Avondale, Ariz.

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.