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 

Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. 08-192 October 20, 2008

ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD TO HEAR ORAL ARGUMENT 

OCT. 29 ON PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL 

 The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) 

will hear oral arguments Oct. 29 in Hastings, Minn. regarding the application by Nuclear 

Management Company, LLC to renew its license for an additional 20 years of operation at the 

Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2, located near Red Wing, Minn. 

 The Prairie Island Indian Community has petitioned to intervene in the license renewal 

proceeding. The oral arguments will address the standing of this potential party to intervene and 

the admissibility of its various environmental and technical contentions. 

 The oral arguments will be held in the Dakota County Judicial Center, Courtroom 2E, 

1560 Highway 55 in Hastings. They will begin promptly at 9:00 a.m. Central Time. 

 

 The plant’s operator submitted a license renewal application dated April 11 and 

supplemented it by a letter dated May 16. Notice of opportunity for a hearing was published in 

the Federal Register June 17. The Prairie Island Community filed a request for a hearing August 

18. Oral arguments will provide the petitioner with an opportunity to clarify the issues before the 

Board. 

 Current plans call for the proceeding to be made available for live viewing via the 

following internet Web stream feed at http://www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=52392. 

 

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

term of 40 years. This license term was selected based on economic and anti-trust considerations, 

not technical limitations. The license may be renewed for an additional 20 years, provided that 

NRC requirements are met. The current operating licenses for Prairie Island are due to expire on 

Aug. 9, 2013, for Unit 1 and Oct. 29, 2014, for Unit 2. 

 The ASLB Panel is the independent adjudicatory body of the NRC. It acts on behalf of 

the Commission and independent of the agency staff to conduct public hearings on contested 

issues. These issues arise in the course of licensing and enforcement proceedings on commercial 

nuclear power reactors and the civilian use of nuclear materials in the United States. 
 Licensing boards typically consist of three administrative judges. For this proceeding, the 

board includes two technical experts and an attorney. 

 

 Additional information on the license renewal process is available on the NRC’s web site 

at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/license-renewal-bg.html and 

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html. 

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