NRC NEWS

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 2443 Warrenville Road

 Lisle IL 60532

 Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov

No. III-05-032 June 22, 2005

CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 

Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 

NRC SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON MONTICELLO NUCLEAR PLANT

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES FOR LICENSE RENEWAL

The U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold two public meetings Thursday, June

30, in Monticello, Minn., on the environmental review of Nuclear Management Company’s

application to renew the operating license for Monticello Nuclear Power Plant. The public is invited

to attend and comment on environmental issues the NRC should consider in its review of the proposed

license renewal.

The meetings will be in the Mississippi Room of the Monticello Community Center, 505

Walnut St., Monticello.

There will be two similar sessions, one in the afternoon from 1:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m., and one

in the evening from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. In addition, the NRC staff will host informal discussions one

hour prior to each meeting to answer questions and provide additional information about the process. 

However, formal comments on environmental issues cannot be accepted during the informal sessions.

For planning purposes, those who wish to present oral comments at the meeting are encouraged

to contact Jennifer Davis of the NRC by telephone at 800-368-5642, extension 3835, or by email at

MonticelloEIS@nrc.gov. People may also register to speak before the start of each session. 

Individual comment time may be limited by the time available.

The meetings will include an overview and NRC staff presentation on the environmental

process related to license renewal. Members of the public will then be given the opportunity to

present their comments on what 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 the Monticello plant will expire on Sept. 8, 2010. Nuclear

Management Co. submitted its application for license renewal on Mar. 24, 2005.

The application is available for public review at the Monticello Public Library, 220 W. 6th St.,

Monticello, and the Buffalo Public Library, 18 NW Lake Blvd., Buffalo. It is also available in the

NRC Public Document Room at NRC Headquarters, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike,

Rockville, Maryland, and on the Internet at 

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/monticello.html
An existing 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 Monticello. It will contain a recommendation regarding the environmental acceptability

of the license renewal action.

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

of conclusions and significant issues and will send a copy to interested persons who participated in the

scoping process. The summary will also be available for public review at the local libraries and

accessible electronically at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html .

The NRC staff will then prepare a draft environmental impact statement supplement 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 EIS supplement.

Members of the public may also submit written comments on the scope of the

Monticello-specific supplement to the generic environmental impact statement. Comments should be

submitted by Aug. 2, 2005, 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: MonticelloEIS@nrc.gov.

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