NRC: News Release - 2008-0019 - NRC and Prairie Island Indian Community Sign First-of-a Kind Memorandum of Understanding

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NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Office of Public Affairs	Telephone: 301/415-8200
Washington, DC 20555-0001	E-mail: opa@nrc.gov
www.nrc.gov

No. 08-119

June 26, 2008

NRC AND PRAIRIE ISLAND INDIAN COMMUNITY SIGN
FIRST-OF-A KIND MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
Printable Version

On June 17, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Prairie Island Indian Community (PIIC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for working together to review potential environmental impacts of the proposed license renewal of the Prairie Island nuclear power plant located near Red Wing, Minn. This is the first MOU dealing with a license renewal environmental review.

The MOU describes each side’s roles and responsibilities as the NRC leads the review of the application to renew the operating licenses for Units 1 and 2 at the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant. Eric Leeds, Director of the NRC’s Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, and PIIC Tribal Council President Ronald Johnson signed the memorandum.

“We look forward to collaborating with the Prairie Island Indian Community,” Leeds said. “This close cooperation will lead to a more effective and complete environmental review before the NRC reaches a decision on renewing the plant’s license.”

The MOU recognizes PIIC’s special expertise and information as it relates to historic and archeological resources, socioeconomics, land use, and environmental justice. The NRC will give the community copies of technical reports, data and other information that fall under the PIIC’s areas of interest, and the agency will give extra weight to the community’s comments in those areas. The agency retains final authority on the renewal decision.

The complete text of the MOU is available in the NRC’s electronic document database, ADAMS, by entering ML081610273 on this Web page: http://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/dologin.htm. For more information contact Richard Plasse, telephone (301) 415-1427 or email, richard.plasse@nrc.gov.

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