Press Release-I-07-002, NRC to Hold Public Meetings on Draft Environmental Impact Report for Pilgrim Nuclear Plant License Renewal Application

Press Release-I-07-002: NRC to Hold Public Meetings on Draft Environmental Impact Report for Pilgrim Nuclear Plant License Renewal Application

ML070120427
Person / Time
Site:	Pilgrim
Issue date:	01/12/2007
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region I
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-I-07-002
Download: ML070120427 (2)

Text

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region I 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa.www.nrc.gov No. I-07-002 January 12, 2007Contact:Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETINGS ON DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORTFOR PILGRIM NUCLEAR PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION Members of the public will have an opportunity on Wednesday, Jan. 24, to comment on a draftreport that assesses the environmental impact of extending the operating license for the Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Plymouth, Mass. On Jan. 25, 2006, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., which operatesthe plant, submitted an application to renew the license for an additional 20 years.

The NRC report, known as the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, was issued on Dec. 8, 2006.

As part of its license renewal application, the company submitte d an environmental report. The NRC staff reviewed the report and performed an on-site audit. The staff also considered commentsmade during the environmental scoping process, including comme nts offered at public meetings heldby the NRC on May 17, 2006, in Plymouth.Based on its review, the NRC staff has prepar ed and issued its draft environmental impactstatement, which preliminarily recommends that the Commission determine the adverse environmental impacts of license renewal for the Pilgrim plant are not so great that preserving the option of licenserenewal for energy planning decision-makers w ould be unreasonable. This recommendation is basedon: 1) the analysis and findings in the Generic Environmental Impact Statement used for licenserenewal reviews; 2) the plant-specific environmental report submitted by Entergy; 3) NRC consultation with other federal, state and local agencies; 4) the NRC staff's own independent review; and 5) the NRC staff's consideration of public comments received during the environmental scoping process.The NRC will hold two meetings on Jan. 24 to accept comments on the report. The first sessionwill begin at 1:30 p.m. A second session will get under way at 7 p.m. Both meetings will take place atthe Radisson Plymouth Harbor Ballroom, 180 Water St., Plymouth. NRC staff will be available for anhour prior to the start of each meeting for in formal, one-on-one disc ussions of the report.Those interested may pre-register to attend or speak at the meetings by contacting Alicia Williamson, NRC Environmental Project Manager for the Pilg rim application, at 1-800-368-5642, ext.1878, or by sending an e-mail to PilgrimEIS@nrc.gov by Jan.17. Members of the public may alsoregister 15 minutes before each session to provide oral comments. The duration of individualcomments may be limited by the time available, depending on the number of speakers who register.Written comments on the draft report will also be considered by the NRC staff. Comments canbe submitted by mail to the Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Mail Stop T-6 D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001. They canalso be submitted electronically to PilgrimEIS@nrc.gov . The public comment period ends on Feb. 28, 2007.Under NRC regulations, the original operating li cense for a nuclear power plant has a term of40 years. The license may be renewed for up to an additional 20 years if NRC requirements are met. The current operating license for the Pilgrim plant is due to expire on June 8, 2012.

The draft report is posted on the NRC web page at:http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/sta ff/sr1437/supplement29/ . The Pilgrimlicense renewal appli cation is posted at:http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing

/renewal/applications/pilgrim.html#appls . Additional information about the license re newal process is available at:www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html .The draft report is also available for review at the following libraries:

!The Plymouth Public Library, 132 South St., Plymouth;

!The Duxbury Free Library, 77 Alden St., Duxbury, Mass.; and

!The Kingston Public Library, 6 Green St., Kingston, Mass.

1. 1. 1. News releases are available through a free list serve 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.