NRC SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT FOR
BEAVER VALLEY LICENSE RENEWAL; MEETINGS OCT. 30
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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is seeking public comment on its preliminary conclusion that there are no environmental impacts that would preclude renewal of the operating license for the Beaver Valley Power Station in Shippingport, Pa.

The information is contained in a draft supplemental environmental impact statement on the proposed license renewal issued last month. As part of its license renewal application, First Energy submitted an environmental report. The NRC staff reviewed the report and performed an on-site audit. The staff also considered comments made during the environmental scoping process, including comments offered at public meetings held last Nov. 22 in Pittsburgh. Based on its review, the NRC staff has preliminarily determined that the adverse environmental impacts of license renewal for Beaver Valley are not so great that preserving the option of license renewal for energy planning decision-makers would be unreasonable.

The draft supplemental environmental impact statement is open for public comment until Dec. 17, and will also be the subject of public meetings on Oct. 30th at the Embassy Suites Pittsburgh-International Airport, 550 Cherrington Parkway, in Pittsburgh. There will be two identical sessions, at 1:30 p.m., and at 7:00 p.m.

In addition, the NRC staff will host informal discussions one hour prior to each meeting. NRC staff members will be available to answer questions and provide information about the process during those informal sessions, but no comments on environmental issues will be accepted then. The two sessions will begin with identical overviews, including a discussion by NRC staff and its contractors of the contents of the  draft supplement to the GEIS. The meeting will then be opened for public comment.

For planning purposes, those interested in attending are encouraged to pre-register by contacting Emmanuel Sayoc of the NRC by telephone at 800/368-5642, extension 1924, or by e-mail at BeaverValleyEIS@nrc.gov no later than Dec. 17. Interested persons may also register to speak before the start of each session. Time for individual comments at the meetings may be limited to accommodate all speakers.

Written comments on the draft supplement to the GEIS will also be considered by NRC staff. Comments should be submitted either by mail to the Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Mail Stop T-6D59, U.S. Nuclear  Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, or by e-mail to BeaverValleyEIS@nrc.gov.

The NRC has been reviewing the Beaver Valley license renewal application since First Energy submitted it on Aug. 27, 2007. Under NRC regulations, the original operating license for a nuclear power plant has a term of 40 years. The license may be renewed for up to an additional 20 years if NRC requirements are met. The current operating licenses for Beaver Valley Units 1 and 2 are due to expire on Jan. 29, 2016, and May 27, 2027, respectively.

The possible environmental effects of an additional 20 years of nuclear plant operation are described in the NRC's Generic Environmental Impact Statement, or GEIS (NUREG-1437). The NRC issues a site-specific supplement to the GEIS on each plant requesting license renewal to address the potential environmental impacts. Issues specific to Beaver Valley are addressed in Supplement 36.

The draft supplement to the GEIS, along with other related documents, is available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room at NRC headquarters, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md.; or electronically through the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System through the NRC webpage at www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html. The accession number of the draft Supplement 36 to the GEIS is ML082001028. In addition, two libraries, Beaver Area Memorial Library,100 College Ave, in Beaver, Pa., and Beaver County Library System, 1 Campus Drive, in Monaca, Pa., have agreed to make the draft supplement to the GEIS available for public inspection.

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Thursday, October 16, 2008