NRC: News Release - 2003-128 - NRC Renews License for St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant for an Additional 20 Years

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NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
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No. 03-128

October 3, 2003

NRC RENEWS LICENSE FOR ST. LUCIE NUCLEAR POWER PLANTFOR AN ADDITIONAL 20 YEARS
Printable Version

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has renewed the operating license of the St. Lucie Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, located southeast of Fort Pierce, Florida, for an additional 20 years. The plant is operated by Florida Power & Light Company (FPL).

FPL submitted its license renewal application to the NRC on November 29, 2001. With the renewal, the license for St. Lucie 1 is extended from March 1, 2016, to March 1, 2036, and the license for unit 2 is extended from April 6, 2023, to April 6, 2043.

The NRC’s environmental review is described in a site-specific supplement to the NRC’s “Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants," (NUREG-1437, Supplement 11). In the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, issued in May 2003, the staff concluded that there were no impacts that would preclude renewal of the license for environmental reasons. Two public meetings to discuss the environmental review were held near the plant on April 3, 2002, and November 3, 2002.

In its “Safety Evaluation Report Related to the License Renewal of St. Lucie Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2,” issued in July 2003, the NRC staff concluded that there were no safety concerns that would preclude license renewal, because the licensee had demonstrated the capability to manage the effects of plant aging. In addition, the NRC conducted inspections of the plants to verify information submitted by the licensee. Copies of these documents are available on the NRC Web site at this address:
http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/st-lucie.html.

On September 17, 2003, the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards -- an independent body of technical experts which advises the Commission -- issued its recommendation that the operating licenses for St. Lucie, Units 1 and 2, be renewed. That recommendation is contained in "Report on the Safety Aspects of the License Renewal Application for the St. Lucie Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2." A copy of this document will be available on the NRC Web site at this address: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/acrs/letters/2003/.

The St. Lucie license renewal brings the total number of renewals to 18 units. A complete listing of completed renewal applications, as well as those currently under review, can be found on the NRC’s Web site at this address: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.html.