NRC ISSUES FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT 

FOR NORTH ANNA NEW REACTOR APPLICATION 

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has completed its Final Supplemental Environmental 

Impact Statement (FSEIS) for the proposed North Anna Unit 3 reactor and concludes that there are 

no environmental impacts that would preclude issuing a Combined License (COL) for construction 

and operation of the proposed reactor at the site, near Mineral, Va. 

In applying for the COL, Dominion Virginia Power referenced the North Anna Early Site 

Permit (ESP) the NRC issued in November 2007. In order to supplement the ESP's environmental 

findings, the NRC started its review with a public meeting near the plant in April 2008. The staff 

considered comments from members of the public, local officials, and representatives of state and 

federal agencies before issuing a draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) in 

December 2008. The staff held an additional public meeting in February 2009 to gather comments 

on the draft SEIS. 

Dominion submitted its COL application Nov. 27, 2007, seeking approval to build and 

operate an Economic and Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) at the site, approximately 40 

miles northwest of Richmond. The ESBWR is a 1,500 MWe design currently under NRC review for 

possible certification. The agency expects to complete its ESBWR review in late 2011. The staff 

will consider any findings concerning the design in reviewing the North Anna application. 

Information on the ESBWR application is available on the NRC Web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/esbwr.html. 

 The NRC’s publishing of the FSEIS is only part of the overall North Anna COL review. The 

agency staff continues to compile its final safety evaluation report, incorporating recommendations 

from the NRC’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards. The final report is expected in early 

2011, followed by a mandatory hearing by the NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board and then 

a final agency decision. 

 The North Anna Unit 3 FSEIS is available on the NRC’s Web site at this address: 

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/north-anna.html and can also be viewed in the NRC’s 

ADAMS online documents system at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html by 

entering accession number “ML100680117” in the search window. The FSEIS is also available for 

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. 10-051 March 25, 2010
review at the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library in Mineral; the Hanover Branch Library 

(Pamunkey) in Hanover, Va.; the Orange County Library in Orange, Va.; the Salem Church Library 

in Fredericksburg, Va.; and the C. Melvin Snow Memorial Branch Library in Spotsylvania, Va. 

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