No. I-09-004 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331 

January 21, 2009

E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov

NRC STAFF TO SEEK COMMENTS ON DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT 

FOR THREE MILE ISLAND 1 LICENSE RENEWAL PROPOSAL ON JAN. 28 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will solicit public comments at two meetings 

on Wednesday, Jan. 28, regarding its preliminary conclusion that there are no environmental 

impacts that would preclude a 20-year extension of the operating license for the Three Mile 

Island 1 nuclear power plant. 

A draft environmental impact statement on the proposed license renewal contains the 

information. The report, which was issued in December, will be discussed first at a meeting to be 

held at 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 28 at the Sheraton Harrisburg Hershey Hotel, 4650 Lindle Road, 

Harrisburg, Pa. A second session will get under way at 7 p.m. on the same day at the same 

location. 

The two meetings will begin with identical overviews, including a discussion of the 

contents of the report, then be opened for public comment. 

In addition, the NRC staff will host informal discussions 1 hour prior to each meeting at 

the same facility. NRC staff members will be available to answer questions and provide 

information about the process during these discussions, but no comments on environmental 

issues will be accepted during them. 

As part of its license renewal application, AmerGen submitted an environmental report. 

The NRC staff reviewed the report and performed an on-site audit. The staff also considered 

comments made during the environmental “scoping” process, including comments offered at 

public meetings held on May 1, 2008, in Middletown, Pa. Based on its review, the NRC staff has 

preliminarily determined that the “adverse environmental impacts of license renewal for Three 

Mile Island 1 are not so great that preserving the option of license renewal for energy planning 

decision-makers would be unreasonable.” 

The NRC staff has been reviewing the Three Mile Island 1 license renewal application 

since AmerGen submitted it on Jan. 8, 2008. Under NRC regulations, the original operating 

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license for a nuclear power plant has a term of 40 years. The license may be renewed for up to an 

additional two decades if NRC requirements are met. The current operating license for Three 

Mile Island 1 is due to expire on April 19, 2014. 

The possible 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. 

The draft supplement to the GEIS, along with other related documents, is available 

electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room at the NRC 

Headquarters, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md.; or electronically 

through the Agencywide Documents Access System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible through 

the NRC web page at www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html. The accession number of 

the Three Mile Island 1 draft supplement is ML083350417. In addition, the draft supplement is 

available for public inspection at following locations: Londonderry Township Municipal 

Building, 783 S. Geyers Church Road, Middletown; Middletown Public Library, 20 N. Catherine 

St., Middletown; and Penn State Harrisburg Library, 351 Olmsted Drive, Middletown. 

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

the comments received and issue a final supplement to the GEIS for the plant. That supplement 

will contain a recommendation regarding the environmental acceptability for license renewal. 

 

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