NRC NEWS

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 801 Warrenville Road

 Lisle IL 60532

 Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. III-03-021 March 31, 2003

CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov

Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 

PUBLIC MEETINGS APRIL 8 ON LICENSE RENEWAL OF 

QUAD CITIES NUCLEAR PLANT

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold two public meetings on April 8 in

Moline, Illinois, on the environmental review related to the application of Exelon Generation

Company’s application to renew the operating license for the Quad Cities Nuclear Station. Members of

the public are invited to attend and comment on environmental issues the NRC should consider in its

review of the proposed license renewal. 

The meetings will be held at The Mark of the Quad Cities, 1201 River Drive, Moline. There

will be two similar sessions, one in the afternoon at 1:30 and one in the evening at 7:00. 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 process during those

informal sessions, but no comment submittals on environmental issues will be accepted at that time.

For planning purposes, those who wish to present oral comments at the meeting may register by

contacting Duke Wheeler of the NRC 1-800-368-5642, Extension 1444, or by email at

QuadCitiesEIS@nrc.gov by April 2. Interested persons 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, after which members of the public will 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 two Quad Cities units will expire on December 14, 2012. Exelon

submitted its application for license renewal on January 3.

The application is available for public review at the Cordova District Library, 402 Main

Avenue, Cordova, Illinois; the River Valley Library, 214 S. Main Street, Port Byron, Illinois; and the

Davenport Public Library, 321 Main Street, Davenport, Iowa. It is also available in the NRC Public

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

Maryland (telephone 800-397-4209), and on the internet at

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/dresden-quad.html
An 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 the Quad Cities Station. It will contain a recommendation regarding the environmental acceptability

of the proposed 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 three public libraries and

accessible electronically through the NRC Public Electronic Reading Room 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 Quad Cities

specific supplement to the generic environmental impact statement. Comments should be submitted by

May 12, 2003, 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: QuadCitiesEIS@nrc.gov.

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