No. III-09-035 

Contacts: 

Viktoria Mitlyng 630-829-9662 

Prema Chandrathil 630-829-9663 

 December 11, 2009 

 E-Mail: opa3@nrc.gov 

Web site: www.nrc.gov

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Region III 

2443 Warrenville Road 

Lisle IL 60532 

NRC SEEKS PUBLIC COMMENTS ON DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT FOR 

PRAIRIE ISLAND NUCLEAR PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL 

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold two public meetings on Wednesday, Dec. 

16, to solicit public comments on the draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) 

for Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant license renewal application. The plant is owned and 

operated by Northern States Power Company-Minnesota. The plant is located in Welch, Minn., 

roughly 40 miles southeast of St. Paul. 

 

The first meeting will begin at 2 p.m. at the Red Wing Public Library, at 225 East 

Avenue in Red Wing. The second meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the same location. The two 

meetings will begin with overviews, including a discussion of the contents of the report, and then 

be opened for public comment. An NRC “Open House” will be held half an hour prior to the 

start of each meeting to provide interested members of the public with an opportunity to talk 

informally with agency staff. However, formal comments must be expressed only during the 

transcribed meetings. 

The company submitted its license renewal application on April 11, 2008. As part of its 

application the company 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 on July 

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

impacts of the license renewal for Prairie Island nuclear power plant Units 1 and 2 do not 

preclude license renewal. 

The draft SEIS report is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/adams/web-based.html at accession number ML093170484. A copy of the report will be 

available at the Red Wing Library, also additional details of the renewal were announced in a 

Nov. 16 press release (http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/2009/09-186.html). 

Members of the public may register to present oral comments at this meeting by Dec. 14, 

2009, by contacting Elaine Keegan at 1-800-368-5642, extension 8517, or by email at 

Elaine.Keegan@nrc.gov. Those with special needs should also contact Keegan to make 

arrangements. Those who wish to make comments may also register at the meeting 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. Public comments will be accepted 

until Jan. 30, 2010. 

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

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

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