U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 801 Warrenville Road

 Lisle IL 60532

 Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov 

No. III-03-026 April 4, 2003

CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov

Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 

PUBLIC MEETINGS APRIL 10 ON LICENSE RENEWAL OF DRESDEN NUCLEAR PLANT

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold two public meetings on April 10 in

Morris, Illinois, on the environmental review related to Exelon Generation Company’s application to

renew the operating license for the Dresden Nuclear Station. 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 at Jennifer’s Garden Banquet and Convention Center, 555 West

Gore Road, Morris. 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. However, comments on environmental issues made

during these informal sessions will not be entered into the official record.

For planning purposes, those who wish to present oral comments at the meeting may register by

contacting Duke Wheeler of the NRC 1-800-368-5642, Extension 1444, or by email at

DresdenEIS@nrc.gov. Interested persons may also register to speak before the start of each session.

Members of the public may also submit written comments 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: DresdenEIS@nrc.gov.

Comments should be submitted by May 12, 2003.

The meetings will include an 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 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 Dresden Unit 2 will expire on December 22, 2019; and the operating

license for Unit 3 will expire on January 12, 2011. Exelon submitted its application for license

renewal on January 3.

The application is available for public review at the Morris Area Public Library, 604 West

Liberty Street, Morris, Illinois; and the Coal City Public Library District, 85 North Garfield Street,

Coal City, Illinois. It is also available in the NRC Public Document Room at NRC Headquarters, One
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland (telephone 800-397-4209), and on the

internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/dresden-quad.html

An 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 Dresden Station. It will contain a recommendation regarding the environmental acceptability of

the proposed license renewal action.

At the conclusion of the information-gathering process, the NRC staff will prepare a summary

of the environmental scoping process and send a copy to interested persons who participated in the

process. The summary will also be available for public review at the two public libraries and accessible

electronically through the NRC Public Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/adams.html. 

The NRC staff will then prepare a Dresden-specific draft supplement to the generic

environmental impact statement 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

Dresden-specific supplement.

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