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NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION II 61 Forsyth Street, Suite 23T85, Atlanta, GA 30303

NRC to Hold Public Meetings on Hatch Nuclear Plant License Renewal

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold public meetings on May 10 in Vidalia, Georgia, on the environmental review related to the application of Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. to renew the operating licenses for both units at the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant near Baxley, Georgia. Members of the public are invited to attend and comment on environmental issues the NRC should consider in its review of the proposed license renewal.

The meetings will be held at the Southeastern Technical Institute at 3001 East First Street in Vidalia, and there will be two similar sessions, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. The first will be from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. and the second will be from 7 to 10 p.m.

Those who wish to attend or present oral comments at the May 10 meeting may register by contacting James Wilson of the NRC by telephone at (800) 368-5642, extension 415-1108, or by e-mail at " hatcheis@nrc.gov " no later than May 5. Registration will also take place at the Southeastern Technical Institute meeting site 15 minutes before the start of each session. The opportunity for late-registering individuals to provide comments, however, may be limited by the time available.

The meetings will include an overview and NRC staff presentation on the environmental process related to license renewal, after which members of the public will be given the opportunity to present their comments on what environmental issues the NRC should consider during its review.

Under NRC regulations, the original operating license for a nuclear power plant is issued for up to 40 years. The license may be renewed for up to an additional 20 years if NRC requirements are met. The current operating licenses for Hatch Units 1 and 2 will expire on August 6, 2014, and June 13, 2018, respectively. Southern Nuclear submitted its application for license renewal by letter dated February 29, 2000.

As part of its application, Southern Nuclear submitted an environmental report. That report is available for public review at the NRC Public Document Room located at 2120 L Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. In addition, the Appling County Library, located at 242 East Parker Street, Baxley, GA 31513, has agreed to make the ER available for public review. The application is also available on the Web at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/REACTOR/LR/HATCH/index.html .

An existing NRC document, "Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants," (NUREG-1437), assesses the scope and impact of environmental effects that would be associated with license renewal at any nuclear power plant site. The NRC staff is gathering information at the May meeting for a supplement to the generic environmental impact statement that will be specific to the Hatch plant. It will contain a recommendation regarding the environmental acceptability of the license renewal action.

At the conclusion of the information-gathering process, the NRC staff will prepare a summary of conclusions and significant issues and will send a copy to interested persons who participated in the scoping process. The summary will also be available for public review at the Appling County Library and will be accessible electronically through the NRC Public Electronic Reading Room found at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html .

The NRC staff will then prepare a draft environmental impact statement supplement for public comment and will hold a public meeting to solicit comments. After consideration of comments received on the draft, the NRC will prepare a final EIS supplement.

Members of the public may also submit written comments on the scope of the Hatch-specific supplement to the generic environmental impact statement. Comments should be submitted by June 9, either by mail to the Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Mail Stop T-6-D-59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 or by Internet to: hatcheis@nrc.gov .

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