NRC TO DISCUSS PROCESS FOR REVIEW OF LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION 

FOR SEABROOK NUCLEAR PLANT, SEEKS ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW INPUT 

 Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold two public meetings on Thursday, Aug. 

19, in Hampton, N.H., to discuss the agency’s review process for a license renewal application 

for the Seabrook nuclear power plant, which is located in Seabrook, N.H. The sessions will also 

provide an opportunity for members of the public to comment on environmental issues they 

believe the NRC should consider during its review of the application, which requests an 

additional 20 years of operation. 

 The first meeting is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Galley Hatch Conference 

Center, at 815 Lafayette Road (Route 1) in Hampton. A second identical session is planned for 

the same location at 7 p.m. (Directions to the center are available at: 

www.galleyhatchconferencecenter.com/directions.htm.) 

 An open house will be held for one hour before the start of each meeting to allow 

interested members of the public to talk informally with NRC staff on a one-on-one or smallgroup basis. However, formal comments on the license renewal application will only be accepted 

during the meetings. 

 Both meetings will begin with a brief staff presentation on the NRC’s process for 

reviewing such applications. Audience members will then be able to comment on issues they 

believe the agency should consider as the review of the Seabrook application continues. 

Comments on potential environmental impacts of the plant’s extended operation will be 

considered as the NRC staff develops an Environmental Impact Statement on the application as 

part of its review. 

 “This is the first of several opportunities for residents of the Seabrook area to let us know 

what issues the NRC should evaluate as we review the potential environmental impacts of 

renewing the Seabrook operating license,” said Bo Pham, a Branch Chief in the NRC’s Division 

of License Renewal. “We’ll consider all the comments and publish them in a ‘scoping summary’ 

as we move forward with our review.” 

 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region I 

475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406 

E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov 

Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. I-10-036 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331 

August 4, 2010 

Email: OPA1.RESOURCE@nrc.gov
 Seabrook is a pressurized-water reactor owned and operated by NextEra Energy 

Seabrook, LLC. The company submitted a license renewal application for the plant to NRC on 

May 25, 2010. The facility’s current operating license is set to expire on March 15, 2030. 

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

term of 40 years. This license term was selected on the basis of economic and anti-trust 

considerations, not technical limitations. A plant license may be renewed for up to an additional 

20 years, provided that NRC requirements are met. 

 Members of the public may register to present oral comments at the Aug. 19th meetings 

by contacting Jeremy Susco at 1-800-368-5642, ext. 2927, or by e-mail at 

Jeremy.susco@nrc.gov. Those who wish to offer comments may also register at the meetings 

within 15 minutes of the start of each session. Individual oral comments may be limited by the 

time available, depending on the number of persons who register. Those with special needs may 

contact Mr. Susco no later than Aug. 5th. 

 The application is available on the NRC web site at: 

www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/seabrook.html. A copy is also 

available at the Seabrook Library, at 25 Liberty St. in Seabrook, and at the Amesbury Public 

Library, at 149 Main St. in Amesbury, Mass. 

 Written comments on issues to be considered during the NRC’s review of the Seabrook 

application can be sent by Sept. 21 to: Chief, Rulemaking and Directives Branch, Division of 

Administrative Services, Office of Administration, Mail stop TWB 5B-01M, U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, or at the Federal rulemaking web site, 

at www.regulations.gov, by searching on Docket ID NRC-2010-0206. 

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

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

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