NRC SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW OF 

PALO VERDE NUCLEAR PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL; MEETINGS JUNE 25 

 Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold two public meetings on Thursday, June 25, 

in Tonopah and Avondale, Ariz., to discuss the agency’s environmental review of the Palo Verde 

Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2 and 3, license renewal application. 

 The Palo Verde nuclear plants are pressurized-water reactors located in Maricopa County, 

Ariz., approximately 50 miles west of Phoenix. The current operating licenses for Palo Verde Units 

1, 2 and 3 expire on June 1, 2025, April 24, 2026 and Nov. 25, 2027, respectively. Arizona Public 

Service Company submitted the application for renewal Dec. 11, 2008, and supplemented the 

application by letter dated April 14. 

 “This is the first of several opportunities for the Palo Verde community to let us know what 

issues the NRC should look at while we review the potential environmental impacts of renewing the 

license,” said David Wrona, a branch chief 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 2 p.m., at Tonopah Valley High School, 38201 West 

Indian School Road in Tonopah, and the second session at 7 p.m., at Estrella Mountain Community 

College, 3000 North Dysart Road in Avondale. 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 Palo Verde 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 this meeting by June 18 by 

contacting NRC Project Manager, Lisa Regner, by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, extension 1906 or 

by e-mail at Lisa.Regner@nrc.gov. Those who wish to make comments may also register at the 

meeting within 15 minutes of the start of each session. Individual oral comments may be limited by 

the time available, depending on the number of persons who register. Those with special needs 

should contact Mrs. Regner by June 18. 

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. 09-109 June 11, 2009
 The application is available on the NRC Web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/palo-verde.html and a copy is 

also available at the Litchfield Park Branch Public Library, 101 West Wigwam Blvd., Litchfield 

Park, Ariz. 85340. 

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

Verde environmental review by July 27 to: Chief, Rulemaking and Directives Branch, Division of 

Administrative Services, Office of Administration, Mailstop TWB 5B–01M, U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001, or via e-mail to PaloVerde.EIS@nrc.gov.

 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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