NRC ISSUES FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT AND SAFETY 

EVALUATION REPORTS FOR SALEM AND HOPE CREEK NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS’

LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has issued its final supplemental environmental impact 

statement (SEIS) and the final safety evaluation reports (SERs) for the proposed renewal of the operating 

licenses for Salem and Hope Creek nuclear power plants located in Hancocks Bridge (Salem County), 

N.J. The reports concluded that there are no environmental impacts or open items that would preclude 

license renewal for an additional 20 years of operation.

The applicant, PSEG Nuclear LLC., is seeking license extensions for Salem Nuclear Generating 

Station Units 1 and 2, which are pressurized-water reactors, and Hope Creek Generating Station, which is 

a boiling-water reactor. Both plants are located at the same site about 18 miles south of Wilmington, Del. 

The company submitted the applications on Aug. 18, 2009.

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

40 years. The license may be renewed for up to an additional 20 years, provided that NRC requirements 

are met. The current operating licenses for the plants are set to expire as follows: Salem 1 – Aug. 13, 

2016; Salem 2 – April 18, 2020; and Hope Creek – April 11, 2026.

The license renewal review process proceeds along two tracks – one for the review of safety 

issues and another for the environmental issues. As part of its environmental review of the application, the 

NRC held public meetings near the plants to discuss the review process and the draft version of the 

environmental impact statement. Comments were received and considered from members of the public, 

local officials, and representatives of state and federal agencies.

The SER documents the results of the NRC staff’s safety review of the license renewal 

application. In addition, NRC performs site audits of plant aging management programs to address the 

safety of plant operations during the period of extended operation. Overall, the results show that the 

applicant has identified actions that have been or will be taken to manage the effects of aging in the 

appropriate safety systems, structures and components of the plant and that their functions will be 

maintained during the period of extended operation.

Publication of the final environmental impact statement or the final safety evaluation report does 

not represent final NRC action on the license renewal application.

The SERs and the license renewal application have been provided and will be publicly discussed 

by the agency’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS), an independent body of experts 

that advises the Commission on reactor safety matters. The ACRS will discuss the SERs during its May 

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: www.nrc.gov

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No. 11-060 April 1, 2011
12 meeting, details of which will be posted on the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/acrs/agenda/2011/. The ACRS will later issue a letter to discuss the results of its review and 

provide a recommendation to the Commission regarding license renewal for Salem and Hope Creek. 

Documents related to Salem Units 1 and 2, and Hope Creek are also located on the NRC’s 

website at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.html. The SERs and 

SEIS will be viewed on the NRC’s website through ADAMS online documents system at 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html by entering accession number Hope Creek SER at 

ML110690244 ; Salem 1, 2 and Hope Creek SEIS at ML11089A021 and Salem SER at ML110900295 

in the search window. Help in using ADAMS is available by contacting the NRC’s Public Document 

Room at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at pdr.resource@nrc.gov. 

The reports will also be available at the Salem Free Library, at 112 W. Broadway in Salem, N.J. 

Additional information about the license renewal process is available at

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

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