NRC REQUESTS PUBLIC COMMENT ON DRAFT SUPPLEMENT TO 

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT ON INDIAN POINT LICENSE RENEWAL

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on a draft supplement to 

its final environmental impact statement on the proposed license renewal for the Indian Point 

nuclear power plant, Units 2 and 3, in Buchanan, N.Y.

The supplement, issued June 26, evaluates data submitted by the plant’s owner, Entergy 

Nuclear Operations Inc., after the NRC issued its final environmental report in December 2010. 

These data concern the effect of plant operations on fish and other aquatic life in the Hudson 

River. 

 Indian Point is the site of two pressurized-water reactors. The initial 40-year operating 

license for Indian Point Unit 2 is set to expire on Sept. 28, 2013, while the initial license for 

Indian Point Unit 3 runs through Dec. 12, 2015. Entergy is seeking a 20-year license extension 

for each unit. The company submitted an application for the extensions to the NRC on April 23, 

2007. (Indian Point Unit 1 ceased operations in 1974.)

As part of its review of the application, the NRC staff performed a detailed assessment of 

potential environmental impacts if the plant continues to operate for the extended period. During 

the course of this assessment, the NRC solicited comments from members of the public, local 

officials and representatives of state and federal agencies and tribal governments. The final 

environmental impact statement, totaling more than 2,000 pages, was published on Dec. 3, 2010. 

The report recommended approval of a license extension for the plant.

New information evaluated for the current supplement includes:

• Additional details provided by Entergy on the field data units of measure for impingement 

and entrainment. (Impingement refers to the trapping of fish and other aquatic organisms 

against intake screens by the force of the water being drawn through a cooling water intake 

structure, while entrainment refers to the drawing of small aquatic organisms through a 

cooling water intake structure into the cooling system of a power plant.)

• A new study completed by Entergy and submitted to the New York State Department of 

Environmental Conservation characterizing the plant’s thermal plume in the Hudson River.

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

Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov

No. 12-078 June 27, 2012
• New developments concerning the staff’s consultation under the Endangered Species Act 

with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) regarding endangered species.

The supplement is currently available through the NRC’s ADAMS online database by 

entering accession number ML12174A244 in the search window. It will also be posted on the 

Indian Point license renewal page on the NRC website.

Comments will be accepted on the supplement through Aug. 20. They may be submitted 

on the federal government’s www.regulations.gov website using Docket ID NRC-2008-0672; by 

mail to Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules Announcements and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of 

Administration, Mail Stop TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington 

D.C. 20555-0001; or by fax to 301-492-3446.

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