NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 Office of Public Affairs, Region I

 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406

 www.nrc.gov

No. I-04-042 September 9, 2004

CONTACT: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 Email: opa1@nrc.gov

Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331

NRC SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

FOR PROPOSED NINE MILE POINT NUCLEAR PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL

 Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will conduct two public meetings on September

21 on the environmental review related to an application to extend the operating licenses for the

Nine Mile Point 1 and 2 nuclear power plants. The plants, which are operated by Constellation

Energy Group, are located in Scriba, N.Y.

 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 Town of Scriba Conference Room, at 42 Creamery Road in Oswego, N.Y. The first session

will begin at 1:30 p.m. and continue until 4:30 p.m. The second session, which will offer the

same presentations as 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 1 hour before the start of each meeting to provide

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

comments must be expressed during the transcribed meetings.

 Both sessions will begin with an overview and an NRC staff presentation on the

environmental review process for license renewal applications. After the NRC presentation,

members of public will be given the opportunity to present their comments on environmental

issues they believe the NRC should consider during its review.

 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 Nine Mile Point 1 is due to expire on

Aug. 22, 2009, while the current operating license for Nine Mile Point 2 is scheduled to

terminate on Oct. 31, 2026.

 Constellation Energy submitted its license renewal application on May 27 of this year. 

As part of its application, the company submitted an environmental report. A copy of the

application is available via the NRC’s web site at:

www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/nine-mile-pt.html. In addition,

the Penfield Library, located at the State University of New York Oswego, has agreed to make
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the environmental report available for public inspection. The library’s address is 7060 State

Route 104 in Oswego.

 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 the NRC will gather information at the Sept. 21st meetings will be

a supplement to that generic environmental statement that is specific to the Nine Mile Point

plants. 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 in the scoping process. The summary will also be available on the

NRC’s web site at:

www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/nine-mile-pt.html.

 The NRC staff will subsequently 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 report, the NRC will prepare a final EIS supplement.

 Interested individuals may register to attend or present oral comments at the September

21st meetings by contacting Leslie Fields of the NRC at 1-800-368-5642, ext. 1186, or by e-mail

at NineMilePointEIS@nrc.gov no later than September 17. Those who wish to offer comments

may also register at the meetings 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 Directive Branch, Division

of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, Mailstop T-6 D59, U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001. Comments may also be delivered to

the NRC, Room T-6 D59, Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md., from

7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. during Federal workdays. To be considered, written comments should be

postmarked or dropped off by Oct. 11. Electronic comments can also be sent via e-mail to

NineMilePointEIS@nrc.gov , again no later than Oct. 11.

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