United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Public Affairs, Region II

61 Forsyth Street, Suite 23T85, Atlanta, GA 30303

Tel. 404-562-4416 or 4417 Fax 404-562-4980

Internet: kmc2@nrc.gov or rdh1@nrc.gov

No: II-98-58 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Ken Clark or Roger Hannah (Tuesday, October 6, 1998)

NRC SEEKS INPUT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT ON PROPOSED

OCONEE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has scheduled a public meeting October 19 in

Clemson, South Carolina, on an application from Duke Energy Corporation to renew its

operating licenses for Oconee Nuclear Power Station, Units 1, 2 and 3, near Seneca, South

Carolina. Members of the public are invited to attend and comment on what environmental

issues the NRC should consider in its review of the proposed license renewal.

The meeting will be held at the Ramada Inn, 1310 Tiger Boulevard, in Clemson. Two similar

sessions will be held, in the afternoon and in the evening. Interested persons are invited to

participate in the session that is more convenient for them. The first will begin at 2:00 p.m. and

continue until 5:00 p.m.; the second will begin at 7:00 p.m. and continue until 10:00 p.m.

The two sessions will begin with identical overviews. The NRC staff will give a presentation on

the license renewal and environmental review processes. Duke Energy will discuss the

environmental portion of the proposed license renewal.

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 Oconee will expire on February 6,

2013 for Unit 1, October 6, 2013 for Unit 2 and July 19, 2014 for Unit 3. Duke Energy

submitted its application for license renewal in July.

As part of its application, Duke Energy submitted an environmental report. That report is

available for public review in the NRC's Local Public Document Room located in the Oconee

County Library, 501 West South Broad Street in Walhalla, SC, and at the NRC Public

Document Room located at 2120 L Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.

An existing NRC document, "Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal

of Nuclear Power 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

document for which NRC will gather information at the October meeting will be an

Oconee-plant-specific supplement to that generic environmental statement. 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 the conclusions reached and significant issues identified and will send a copy to each

person who participated. The summary will also be available for public review in the NRC

public document rooms in Walhalla, SC and Washington.

The NRC staff will then prepare a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) 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.

Persons may register to attend or present oral comments at the October 19 meeting by

contacting James H. Wilson by telephone at 800/368-5642, extension 415-1108, or by

Internet at oconeeis@nrc.gov no later than October 15. Members of the public who wish to

make comments may also register at the Ramada Inn meeting site within 15 minutes of the

start of each session. Individual comments may be limited by the time available.

Members of the public may also submit written comments on the scope of the environmental

impact supplement. They should be submitted by November 19, 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, C 20555-0001, or by Internet to the same

address as above: oconeeis@nrc.gov.

The issuance of a final environmental statement for Oconee is planned for February 2000.

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EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS: Detailed information about power reactor license renewal can be found

in several locations on the NRC’s web page (www.nrc.gov). A copy of the application to renew the

Oconee licenses is available for public inspection at the NRC’s Public Document Room in the Gelman

building, 2120 L. Street, NW, Washington, DC and the Local Public Document Room for Oconee in

the Oconee County Library, 501 West South Broad Street in Walhalla, SC.