NRC NEWS

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

 Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200

 Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov 

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

 

No. 06-091 July 10, 2006

NRC SEEKS COMMENT ON UPDATED ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

FOR NORTH ANNA EARLY SITE PERMIT, PUBLIC MEETING AUGUST 15

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on its revised evaluation of the

environmental impacts of issuing an Early Site Permit (ESP) for the North Anna site in Louisa County,

Va., about 40 miles northwest of Richmond.

The preliminary evaluation is contained in the Supplement to NUREG-1811, “Draft

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for an Early Site Permit at the North Anna ESP Site” (SDEIS).

The supplement focuses on the impact of increased power output for the two nuclear power plants

postulated in the application, as well as a change in the cooling system for one of the postulated plants. 

The NRC staff will accept public comment on the supplement for 45 days following the publication of

a notice in the Federal Register, expected shortly. The staff will also discuss the supplement in a public

meeting Aug. 15 in Mineral, Va.

The ESP process allows an applicant to address site-related issues, such as environmental

impacts, for possible future construction and operation of a nuclear power plant at the site. The

original North Anna application was filed Sep. 25, 2003, by Dominion Nuclear North Anna, LLC. If

approved, the permit would give Dominion up to 20 years to decide whether to build one or more

nuclear plants on the site and to file an application with the NRC for approval to begin construction.

The NRC staff’s preliminary recommendation is that a permit should be issued. The staff’s

conclusion is based on its independent review of a report submitted by Dominion, taking into account

consultations with federal, state, tribal and local agencies. The staff’s preliminary conclusions include a

finding that no environmentally preferable or obviously superior sites have been identified, and that

any adverse environmental impacts from possible site preparation and preliminary construction

activities at North Anna could be redressed.

On Tuesday, Aug. 15, the NRC staff will hold a meeting to obtain comments on the SDEIS at

the Louisa County Middle School, 1009 Davis Highway, Mineral, VA. The meeting, which will be

transcribed, begins at 7:00 p.m. and will conclude no later than 10:00 p.m. The meeting will focus on

the supplement only; comments on topics other than the postulated reactors’ increased power level or

the revised cooling system will be considered to the extent the staff has the time to do so.
In addition to the meeting, the NRC staff will host an informal discussion at the school one

hour prior to the meeting. NRC staff members will answer questions and explain the ESP process

during this informal session, but no official comments on the supplement will be accepted then.

For planning purposes, anyone interested in attending or presenting oral comments at the Aug.

15 meeting is encouraged to pre-register no later than Aug. 10, by contacting Jack Cushing of the NRC

by telephone at (800) 368-5642, extension 1424, or by e-mail to North_Anna_comments@nrc.gov .

Requests for special equipment or accommodations at the meeting must be submitted by Aug. 7, using

either of the methods above. Interested persons may also register to speak within 15 minutes of the

start of the meeting. Time for individual comments at the meetings may be limited to accommodate all

speakers.

Written comments on the SDEIS will also be considered by NRC staff. Comments should be

submitted either by mail (postmarked no later than 45 days after the date of the Federal Register

notice) to the Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of

Administration, Mailstop T-6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC

20555-0001, or by e-mail (sent no later than 45 days after the date of the Federal Register notice) to

North_Anna_comments@nrc.gov .

The supplement and related documents are available electronically for public inspection in the

NRC Public Document Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md. They will also be available on

the NRC’s Web site here: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-licensing/esp/north-anna.html . In

addition, the Louisa County Library, 881 Davis Highway in Mineral, has agreed to make the

supplemental EIS available for public inspection.

At the conclusion of the public comment period, the NRC staff will consider and address the

comments provided, then issue a final EIS on the environmental acceptability of an ESP at North Anna

by the end of 2006.

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