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

No. II-02-044 September 5, 2002

CONTACT: Ken Clark (404)562-4416 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov

Roger Hannah (404)562-4417

 

NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETINGS ON ROBINSON

NUCLEAR PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL

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

September 25, in Hartsville, South Carolina, on the environmental review related to the application of

Progress Energy to renew the operating license for the nuclear unit at the H. B. Robinson Steam

Electric Plant near Hartsville. 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 Davidson Hall on the campus of Coker College, 300 East College

Avenue in Hartsville. Parking will be available in front of Davidson Hall. 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 Richard Emch of the NRC by telephone at (800) 368-5642, extension 1590, or

by e-mail at RobinsonEIS@nrc.gov no later than September 20. 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 license for the Robinson plant will expire on July 31, 2010. Progress Energy

submitted its application for license renewal in June.

As part of its application, Progress Energy 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 Hartsville Memorial Library,

located at 147 West College Avenue in Hartsville, has agreed to make the ER available for public

inspection. The application and environmental report are available on the NRC Web page at 

www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/robinson.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 these meetings for a supplement to the generic environmental impact statement that will

be specific to the Robinson plant. 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 Hartsville Memorial

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

at www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html. 

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

October 25, 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: RobinsonEIS@nrc.gov.

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