Ken Clark (404) 562-4416
Roger D. Hannah (404) 562-4417
Joey Ledford (404) 562-4487

NRC STAFF SEEKS INPUT ON DRAFT TURKEY POINT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT; MEETINGS SCHEDULED FOR JULY 17

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 licenses for the two units at the Turkey Point Nuclear Plant near Homestead, Florida.

The information is contained in a draft environmental impact statement on the proposed license renewal published June 12. The statement is open for public comment until August 6, and will also be the subject of public meetings July 17 in Homestead.

The NRC has been reviewing the application for extension of the Turkey Point licenses since Florida Power & Light, which operates the plants, filed it in September 2000. 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 Turkey Point will expire on July 19, 2012, for Unit 3 and April 10, 2013, for Unit 4.

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 Turkey Point are addressed in Supplement 5, published in draft form. The NRC staff's preliminary recommendation is that the Commission determine that the adverse environmental impacts of license renewal for the two units at Turkey Point are not so great that preserving the option of license renewal for energy-planning decision makers would be unreasonable.

On Tuesday, July 17, the NRC staff will hold two similar meetings to obtain comments on the draft environmental impact statement. The meetings will be held at the Harris Field Complex - Homestead YMCA, 1034 Northeast 8^th Street in Homestead, from 1:30 - 4:30 in the afternoon, and from 7 - 10 in the evening, or until all interested people have an opportunity to speak. An open house is scheduled to begin one hour before the start of each meeting.

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, interested parties are encouraged to pre-register to attend or to present oral comments at the July 17 meeting by contacting James Wilson by telephone at (800) 368-5642, extension 1108, or by Internet at TurkeyPointeis@nrc.gov by July 12. Interested parties may also register before each session to make comments. Individual comments 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-6 D 59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, or by Internet to TurkeyPoint@nrc.gov.

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, Maryland; or electronically on the Internet at www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1437/supplement5/index.html. In addition, the Homestead Branch Library, 700 North Homestead Boulevard in Homestead, has agreed to make the draft supplement to the GEIS available for public inspection.

At the conclusion of the public comment period on August 6, 2001, the NRC staff will consider and address the comments provided and issue a final supplement to the GEIS. That supplement will contain a recommendation regarding the environmental acceptability for license renewal.

NRC news releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC Home Page at www.nrc.gov also offers a Subscribe to News link in the News & Information menu. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web Site.

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Friday, December 05, 2008