NRC NEWS

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION I

 475 Allendale Road

 King of Prussia, PA 19406

No. I-01-061 October 26, 2001

CONTACT: Diane Screnci, (610) 337-5330/e-mail: dps@nrc.gov

Neil A. Sheehan, (610) 337-5331/e-mail: nas@nrc.gov

NRC SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT

FOR PROPOSED PEACH BOTTOM NUCLEAR POWER PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL

 Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will accept public comments on Wednesday, November 7,

regarding an application submitted by Exelon Corporation to renew the operating licenses for its Peach

Bottom nuclear power plant in York County, Pa. Members of the public are invited to attend and

comment on which environmental issues the NRC should consider in its review of the application.

 There will be two sessions held on November 7 at the Peach Bottom Inn, 6085 Delta Road (Route

74), Delta, Pa. The first session will convene at 1:30 p.m. and continue until 4:30 p.m. The second

session, which will be a repeat of the first session, will get under way at 7 p.m. and continue until 10

p.m. The NRC will host an open house beginning one hour before the start of each meeting to provide

members of the public with an opportunity to talk informally with agency staff.

 Both sessions will begin with identical overviews. The NRC staff will provide a presentation on

the license renewal and environmental review processes. Exelon will then discuss its application and

possible environmental impacts from license renewal.

 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 license for Peach Bottom Unit 2 is due to expire on August 8, 2013, while the current

operating license for Peach Bottom Unit 3 is scheduled to terminate on July 2, 2014. (Peach Bottom

Unit 1 has been permanently shut down since 1974.)

 Exelon submitted its license renewal application in early July. As part of its application, the

company submitted an environmental report. Copies are available for review at the NRC Public

Document Room, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md., 1-800-397-

4209, and at the following two libraries:

! Harford County Public Library, Whiteford Branch, 2407 Whiteford Road, Whiteford, Md.

21160; and

! Collinsville Community Library, 2632 Delta Road, Brogue, Pa. 17309.
 An existing NRC document, ìGeneric Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of

Nuclear Power Plantsî (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 November 7th meeting will be a supplement to that generic

environmental statement that is specific to Peach Bottom. 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. A copy will be sent to each person who

participated. The summary will also be available at the agencyís Public Document Room and at the

previously mentioned libraries.

 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

on the draft, the NRC will prepare a final EIS supplement.

 Interested individuals may register to attend or present oral comments at the November 7th

meetings by contacting Duke Wheeler at 1-800-368-5642, ext. 1444, or by e-mail at dxw@nrc.gov no

later than November 1. Members of the public may also register to speak at the meeting within 15

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

depending on the number of persons who register.

 In addition, members of the public may send written comments on the environmental scoping

process for the supplement to the GEIS to: Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of

Administrative Services, Office of Administration, Mailstop T-6 D 59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington D.C., 20555-0001. Written comments should be postmarked by November

26. Comments can also be sent via e-mail to Peach_Bottom_EIS@nrc gov no later than November 26.

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