No. IV-10-010 

Contact: Victor Dricks: (817) 860-8128 

 Lara Uselding: (817) 276-6519 

 

 March 26, 2010 

 E-Mail: OPA4.Resource@nrc.gov

NRC SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW OF COLUMBIA 

GENERATING STATION LICENSE RENEWAL; MEETINGS APRIL 6 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold two public meetings on April 6, 

in Richland, Wash., to discuss the agency’s environmental review of the Columbia Generating 

Station license renewal application. 

The Columbia Generating Station is a boiling-water nuclear reactor. The plant is located 

12 miles northwest of Richland, Wash. The licensee, Energy Northwest, submitted the renewal 

application Jan. 19 for the plant. The current operating license expires on Dec. 20, 2023. 

“This is the first of several opportunities for the Columbia Generating Station community 

to let us know what issues the NRC should look at while we review the potential environmental 

impacts of renewing the license,” said Daniel Doyle, a project manager 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.” 

The staff will start the first session at 1:30 p.m., and hold a second session at 6 p.m. Both 

sessions will be held at the Richland Public Library, 955 Northgate Dr. Both sessions will follow 

the same format and cover the same material. The staff will briefly describe the agency’s process 

for reviewing license renewal applications. Members of the audience will then have the 

opportunity to comment on environmental issues they feel the agency should consider in the 

review of the Columbia Generating Station application. 

 NRC staff will be available for informal discussions during an “open house” session an 

hour before each meeting. However, formal comments on the renewal will be accepted only 

during the meetings. Members of the public may register to present oral comments at these 

meetings by March 30, by contacting NRC Project Manager Daniel Doyle by telephone at 1-800-

368-5642, extension 3748, or by e-mail at Daniel.Doyle@nrc.gov. Those who wish to make 

comments may also register at the meeting within 15 minutes of the start of each session. 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Region IV 

 612 E. Lamar Blvd., Suite 400 

 Arlington, TX 76011-4125 

Telephone: (817) 860-8128 
Individual oral comments may be limited by the time available, depending on the number of 

persons who register. Those with special needs should contact Doyle by March 23. 

The application is available on the NRC Web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/columbia.html and is 

available for viewing at the Richland Public Library and at the Kennewick branch of MidColumbia Libraries.

Members of the public may send written comments on issues to be considered in the 

environmental review by May 14 to: Michael T. Lesar, Chief, Rulemaking and Directives 

Branch, Office of Administration, Mailstop TWB 05–B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001. Comments may also be submitted electronically to 

the NRC via the Federal rulemaking website: http://www.regulations.gov. Search for documents 

filed under Docket ID NRC-2010-0029. 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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