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-03-044 July 22, 2003

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

Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331

NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETINGS REGARDING DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL

REPORT FOR GINNA NUCLEAR PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION

Members of the public will have an opportunity on Thursday, August 7th, to comment on a

draft report that assesses the environmental impact of extending the operating license for the R.E.

Ginna nuclear power plant. Rochester Gas & Electric (RG&E) Corp. has submitted an application

to renew the license of the plant, located in Wayne County, N.Y., for an additional 20-year period.

The NRC will hold two meetings on August 7th to accept comments, with one session

scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. and another at 7 p.m. Both meetings, which are scheduled to last up

to three hours each, will take place at the Fireman’s Exempt Hall, 1840 Route 104, Ontario, N.Y. 

NRC staff will be available for an hour prior to the start of each meeting for informal discussions of

the report.

Interested parties may pre-register to attend or present oral comments at the meetings by

contacting Robert G. Schaaf of the NRC at 1-800-368-5642, ext. 1312, or by sending an e-mail to

GinnaEIS@nrc.gov no later than July 30. Members of the public may also register 15 minutes

before each session to provide oral comments. The duration of individual comments may be limited

by the time available, depending on the number of persons who register. Written comments on the

draft report will also be considered by the NRC staff. Comments can be submitted by mail to the

Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Mail Stop T-6 D59, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001. The public comment period ends

on September 16.

Under NRC regulations, the original operating license for a commercial nuclear power plant

has a term of 40 years. The license can be renewed for up to an additional 20 years if NRC

requirements are met. The current operating license for the Ginna plant is due to expire on

September 18, 2009.

RG&E submitted its license renewal application for the plant on July 30, 2002. As part of

its application, the company submitted an environmental report. The NRC staff reviewed the report
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and performed an on-site audit. The staff also considered comments made during the environmental

scoping process, including those comments offered at public meetings held on November 6, 2002,

in Webster, N.Y.

Based on its review, the NRC staff has preliminarily recommended that the Commission

determine the adverse environmental impacts of license renewal for the Ginna plant are not so great

that preserving the option of license renewal for energy planning decision-makers would be

unreasonable.

When issued in its final form, the statement will be a Ginna-specific supplement to the

“Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants,”

(NUREG-1437).

The draft report can be viewed electronically via the NRC’s web site, at:

www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1437/supplement14/. Assistance in using

the electronic reading room is available by calling the NRC Public Document Room at (301) 415-

4737. Copies of the report can also be reviewed at the Public Document Room, located at One

White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md., 1-800-397-4209, and at the following

locations:

 The Ontario Public Library, 1850 Ridge Road, Ontario, N.Y. 14519; and

 The Rochester Public Library, 115 South Avenue, Rochester, N.Y. 14604.

 

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