NRC SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON MONTICELLO NUCLEAR PLANT
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES FOR LICENSE RENEWAL
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The U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold two public meetings Thursday, June 30, in Monticello, Minn., on the environmental review of Nuclear Management Company’s application to renew the operating license for Monticello Nuclear Power Plant. The public is invited to attend and comment on environmental issues the NRC should consider in its review of the proposed license renewal.

The meetings will be in the Mississippi Room of the Monticello Community Center, 505 Walnut St., Monticello.

There will be two similar sessions, one in the afternoon from 1:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m., and one in the evening from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. In addition, the NRC staff will host informal discussions one hour prior to each meeting to answer questions and provide additional information about the process. However, formal comments on environmental issues cannot be accepted during the informal sessions.

For planning purposes, those who wish to present oral comments at the meeting are encouraged to contact Jennifer Davis of the NRC by telephone at 800-368-5642, extension 3835, or by email at MonticelloEIS@nrc.gov. People may also register to speak before the start of each session. Individual comment time 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. Members of the public will then 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 license for the Monticello plant will expire on Sept. 8, 2010. Nuclear Management Co. submitted its application for license renewal on Mar. 24, 2005.

The application is available for public review at the Monticello Public Library, 220 W. 6th St., Monticello, and the Buffalo Public Library, 18 NW Lake Blvd., Buffalo. It is also available in the NRC Public Document Room at NRC Headquarters, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, and on the Internet at
http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/monticello.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 these meetings for a supplement to the generic environmental impact statement that will be specific to Monticello. 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 local libraries and accessible electronically at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.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 Monticello-specific supplement to the generic environmental impact statement. Comments should be submitted by Aug. 2, 2005, 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 email to: MonticelloEIS@nrc.gov.

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