NRC NEWS

 UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION II

61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta GA 30303

Web Site: www.nrc.gov/OPA

No. II-01-044 October 16, 2001

CONTACT: Ken Clark (404)562-4416/e-mail: kmc2@nrc.gov

Roger D. Hannah (404)562-4417/e-mail: rdh1@nrc.gov 

 

NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETINGS ON CATAWBA

NUCLEAR STATION LICENSE RENEWAL

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold public meetings on Tuesday, October

23, in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on the environmental review related to the application of Duke

Energy Corporation to renew the operating licenses for both units of the Catawba Nuclear Station, near

Charlotte, North Carolina. Members of the public are invited to attend and comment on environmental

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

The meetings will be held in the Council Chambers of the Rock Hill Town Hall, located at 155

Johnston Street in Rock Hill. There will be two similar sessions, one in the afternoon at 1:30 and one

in the evening at 7:00. 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 additional information

about the process during those informal sessions, but no comment submittals on environmental issues

will be accepted then. 

For planning purposes, those who wish to attend or present oral comments at the meetings may

register by contacting James Wilson of the NRC by telephone at (800) 368-5642, extension 1108, or by

e-mail at CatawbaEIS@nrc.gov no later than October 18. Interested persons may also register to speak

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

The meetings will include an overview and NRC staff presentation on the environmental

process related to license renewal, after which members of the public will be given the opportunity to

present their comments on what environmental issues the NRC should consider during its review.

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 Catawba Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2, will expire on December 6, 

2024, and February 24, 2026, respectively. Duke submitted its application for license renewal in June.

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

public review in the NRC Public Document Room at NRC headquarters, One White Flint North,

11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. In addition, the York County Library, located at 138

Black Street, Rock Hill, South Carolina has agreed to make the ER available for public inspection. 

The application will be available on the NRC Web page at
www.nrc.gov/NRC/REACTOR/LR/Duke/index.html.

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

Nuclear 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 NRC staff is gathering

information at the October meeting for a supplement to the generic environmental impact statement

that will be specific to the Catawba Station. 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 conclusions and significant issues and will send a copy to interested persons who participated in the

scoping process. The summary will also be available for public review at the York County Library and

will be accessible electronically through the NRC Public Electronic Reading Room found at

www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html. Assistance in using the electronic reading room is available

by calling the NRC Public Document Room at 301-415-4737.

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

Members of the public may also submit written comments on the scope of the Catawba-specific

supplement to the generic environmental impact statement. Comments should be submitted by

November 22, 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, D.C. 20555-0001

or by Internet to: CatawbaEIS@nrc.gov.

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