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-05-039 October 4, 2005

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

Roger Hannah (404)562-4417

NRC STAFF SEEKS INPUT ON BRUNSWICK NUCLEAR PLANT

DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR LICENSE RENEWAL

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has reached the preliminary conclusion that

there are no environmental impacts which would preclude renewal of the operating licenses for the

Brunswick Nuclear Power Plant located near Southport, N. C.

The information is contained in a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on the proposed

license renewal. The draft EIS is open for public comment until Dec. 2, 2005, and will also be the

subject of public meetings on October 18 in Southport.

The NRC has been reviewing the application for extension of the Brunswick license since

Progress Energy, which operates the plant, filed it in October 2004. 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 NRC licenses at

Brunswick will expire on Sept. 8, 2016, for Unit 1 and Dec. 27, 2014, for Unit 2.

The possible environmental effects of an additional 20 years of nuclear plant operation are

described in the NRC’s Generic Environmental Impact Statement or GEIS (NUREG-1437). The NRC

issues a site-specific supplement to the GEIS on each plant requesting license renewal to address the

potential environmental impacts. Issues specific to Brunswick are addressed in Supplement 25. The

NRC staff’s preliminary recommendation is that the adverse environmental impacts of license renewal

for the two Brunswick reactors are not so great that preserving the option of license renewal for

energy-planning decision makers would be unreasonable.

On Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2005, the NRC staff will hold two similar meetings in Southport to obtain

comments on the draft supplement to the GEIS. The meetings will be held at the Southport City Hall,

201 E. Moore Street in Southport. The two sessions will begin at 1:30 in the afternoon and at 7:00 in

the evening, respectively. 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 license renewal process during those informal sessions, but no comment

submittals on environmental issues will be accepted then.

The two sessions will begin with identical overviews, including presentations by NRC staff on

the draft supplement to the GEIS. There will then be an opportunity for public comments.
For planning purposes, anyone interested in attending or presenting oral comments at the

October 18th meetings is encouraged to pre-register by contacting Richard Emch Jr. of the NRC by

telephone at 1-800-368-5642, extension 1590, or by e-mail at BrunswickEIS@nrc.gov no later than

October 11. Interested persons may also register to speak before the start of each session. Time for

individual comments at the meetings may be limited to accommodate all speakers.

Written comments on the draft supplement to the GEIS will also be considered by NRC staff. 

Comments should be submitted either by mail 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 to BrunswickEIS@NRC.gov .

The draft supplement to the GEIS 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 Headquarters, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md., and on the Internet at 

www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/brunswick.html#eis . 

At the conclusion of the public comment period on Dec. 2, 2005, the NRC staff will consider

and address comments during the preparation of the final supplement to the GEIS, which is scheduled

to be issued in April 2006.

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