NRC SEEKS COMMENT ON DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT FOR

COLUMBIA NUCLEAR PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL; MEETINGS SEPT. 27

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will solicit public comments at two meetings 

on Tuesday, Sept. 27, regarding its preliminary conclusion that there are no environmental 

impacts that would preclude a 20-year extension of the operating license for the Columbia 

Generating Station nuclear plant.

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

on the Columbia River about 160 miles southeast of Seattle.

The NRC issued a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on Columbia’s proposed 

license renewal on August 23. The EIS will be discussed at meetings to be held at 2 p.m. and 7 

p.m. on Sept. 27 at the Red Lion Hotel, 802 George Washington Way, Richland, Wash. The two 

meetings will follow the same format and cover the same content. They will begin with an 

overview, followed by more details of the contents of the report, and then will open for public 

comment.

In addition, the NRC staff will host informal discussions one hour prior to each meeting 

at the same facility. NRC staff members will be available to answer questions and provide 

information about the process during these discussions, but no oral comments on environmental 

issues will be accepted at these sessions.

For planning purposes, those who wish to present oral comments at the meeting are 

encouraged to contact Daniel Doyle at 301-415-3748 or Daniel.Doyle@nrc.gov. People may also 

register to speak before the start of each session. Individual comment time may be limited by the 

time available.

Energy Northwest submitted a license renewal application for Columbia, including an 

environmental report, on Jan. 19, 2010. The NRC staff reviewed the report and performed an onsite audit. The staff also considered comments made during the environmental “scoping” 

process, including comments offered at public meetings held on April 6, 2010, in Richland.

Based on its review, the NRC staff has preliminarily determined that the adverse environmental 

impacts of license renewal for Columbia are not great enough to deny the option of license 

renewal for energy planning decision-makers.

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. 11-154 August 24, 2011
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 if NRC 

requirements are met. Columbia’s current operating license will expire on Dec. 20, 2023.

The possible effects of an additional 20 years of nuclear plant operation are described in 

the NRC’s Generic Environmental Impact Statement, or GEIS (NUREG-1437). The NRC issues 

a site-specific supplement to the GEIS on each plant requesting license renewal to address the 

potential environmental impacts. The meetings will discuss the draft supplemental EIS pertaining 

specifically to Columbia.

The draft EIS, along with other related documents, will be available for public inspection 

in the NRC Public Document Room at the NRC Headquarters, One White Flint North, 11555 

Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md.; or electronically through the agency’s online document 

database, ADAMS, using accession number ML11227A007. In addition, the draft EIS will be

available for public inspection available at the Richland Public Library, 955 Northgate Drive in

Richland, and at the Mid-Columbia Libraries – Kennewick Branch, 1620 South Union St., 

Kennewick, Wash.

Members of the public may also submit written comments on the draft EIS by Nov. 16. 

Comments can be submitted at regulations.gov under docket ID NRC-2010-0029. The public can 

also submit comments by mail to Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, Announcements, and Directives 

Branch (RADB), Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, Mail Stop

TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001 or send 

faxes to RADB at (301) 492-3446.

After the conclusion of the public comment period, the NRC staff will consider and 

address the comments received and issue a final supplement to the GEIS for the plant. That 

supplement will contain a recommendation regarding the environmental acceptability for license 

renewal.

Additional information on the license renewal review process is available on the NRC 

website.

###

NOTE: Anyone wishing to take photos or use a camera to record any portion of a NRC meeting should 

contact the Office of Public Affairs beforehand.

News releases are available through a free listserv subscription or by clicking on the EMAIL UPDATES

link on the NRC homepage (www.nrc.gov). E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are 

posted to NRC's website.