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-05-002 January 14, 2005

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

Roger Hannah (404)562-4417

NRC SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON BRUNSWICK NUCLEAR PLANT

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES FOR LICENSE RENEWAL

The U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold two public meetings Thursday, Jan.

27, in Southport, N.C., on the environmental review of Progress Energy’s application to renew the

operating licenses for the two Brunswick Nuclear Plant reactors near Southport. The public is invited

to attend and comment on environmental issues the NRC should consider in its review of the proposed

license renewal.

The meetings will be at the Southport City Hall at 201 E. Moore Street. The meeting room is

on the second floor and the building has no elevator, so it is not handicapped accessible. However, the

NRC staff will try to make arrangements to accommodate anyone who wishes to attend and participate

in the meeting. 

There will be two similar sessions, one in the afternoon from 1:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m., and one

in the evening from 7:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. In addition, the NRC staff will host informal

discussions one hour prior to each meeting to answer questions and provide additional information

about the process. However, formal comments on environmental issues cannot be accepted during the

informal sessions.

For planning purposes, those who wish to present oral comments at the meeting are encouraged

to contact Richard L. Emch Jr. of the NRC by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, Extension 1590, or by

email at BrunswickEIS@nrc.gov . People 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 the Brunswick plant’s two units will expire on September 8, 2016,

for Unit 1, and December 27, 2014, for Unit 2. Progress Energy submitted its application for the two

units’ license renewal on October 20, 2004.

The application is available for public review at the William Madison Randall Library, 601 S.

College Road, Wilmington, N.C. It is also available in the NRC Public Document Room at NRC
-2-

Headquarters, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, on the Internet at 

www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/brunswick.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 Brunswick. 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 William Madison

Randall Library, and accessible electronically at www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.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 Brunswickspecific supplement to the generic environmental impact statement. Comments should be submitted by 

March 11, 2005, 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 email to: BrunswickEIS@nrc.gov .

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