NRC SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT FOR 

PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL PROPOSAL 

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is seeking public comments on its preliminary 

conclusion that there are no environmental impacts that would preclude renewal of the operating 

licenses for the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant Units 1 and 2 located 28 miles southeast 

of Minneapolis, Minn. 

 As part of Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant’s license renewal application, dated 

April 11, 2008, Northern States Power Co. 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 

July 30, 2008. Based on its review, the NRC staff has preliminarily determined that the 

environmental impacts of the license renewal for Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant Units 1 

and 2 are not so great that they preclude license renewal. 

 The draft supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) is open for public 

comment until Jan. 29, 2010, and will be the subject of two public meetings to be announced 

separately within the next several weeks. 

 NRC staff will consider written comments on the draft EIS. Comments should be 

submitted either by mail to the Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative 

Services, Mail Stop T-6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555- 

0001, or by e-mail to PrairieIslandEIS@nrc.gov . Under NRC regulations, the original operating 

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

additional 20 years if NRC requirements are met. The current operating licenses for Prairie 

Island Nuclear Generating Plant Units 1 and 2 expire on Aug. 9, 2013, for Unit 1 and Oct. 29, 

2014, for Unit 2. 

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

are described in a generic EIS (NUREG-1437). The NRC issues a site-specific supplement to the 

generic EIS on each plant requesting license renewal; issues specific to Prairie Island Nuclear 

Generating Plant Units 1 and 2 are addressed in Supplement 39. 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 

E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov

Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. 09-186 November 16, 2009
 The draft supplement to the generic EIS and other related documents are available for 

public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room at NRC headquarters, One White Flint 

North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md.; or electronically through the Agencywide 

Documents Access and Management System through the NRC webpage at 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html . The accession number of the draft 

supplement is ML0931703484. 

 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 generic EIS. That supplement will 

contain a recommendation regarding the environmental acceptability for license renewal. 

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