No: 13-037 May 16, 2013 

CONTACT: Scott Burnell, 301-415-8200 

Atomic Safety and Licensing Board to Take Public Comment,

Hold Hearing Oct. 30 on Proposed New Reactor in Michigan

An Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) will hold a hearing Oct. 30 in Monroe, 

Mich., concerning a challenge by several environmental groups to the Combined License application 

for a new nuclear reactor at the Fermi site in Monroe County, Mich. The ASLB is the independent body 

within the NRC that conducts adjudicatory hearings and renders decisions on legal challenges to 

licensing actions.

The hearing, which begins at 9:30 a.m. EDT, will be held in the Monroe County Courthouse’s 

Board Meeting Room, 125 E. Second St. in Monroe. If necessary, the Board will continue the hearing 

through Friday, Nov. 1. Members of the public and media are welcome to observe the evidentiary 

hearing, but participation in the hearing will be limited to the parties and their lawyers and witnesses. 

Those planning to attend the evidentiary hearing should arrive at least 15 minutes early to allow time 

for security screening, including searches of hand-carried items such as briefcases or backpacks. No 

signs will be permitted in the courtroom. 

The Board will also take comments from interested members of the public, known as limited 

appearance statements, on Tuesday, Oct. 29, from 1 – 3 p.m. and from 7 – 8:30 p.m. in the Meyer 

Theater at the Monroe County Community College’s La-Z-Boy Center, 1555 S. Raisinville Road in 

Monroe. These statements are not testimony or evidence, but they nonetheless may aid the Board 

and/or the parties in considering the issues in the hearing. Speakers will be allotted approximately 5 

minutes each for their statements, and the Board reserves the right to end the comment sessions early if 

all those present have had the opportunity to speak.

Those interested in speaking may request time prior to or during the limited appearance 

sessions. Requests submitted prior to the limited appearance sessions will be given priority. Members 

of the public may submit written requests to make an oral statement until 5 p.m. EDT on Friday, 

October 18, via mail to:

Administrative Judge Ronald M. Spritzer

Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel

Mail Stop T-3F23

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001
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via fax to (301) 415-5599, or via email to onika.williams@nrc.gov and ronald.spritzer@nrc.gov. Those 

who cannot attend the sessions in Monroe can submit written statements using the methods above, 

sending copies via mail to:

Office of the Secretary

Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Washington, D.C. 20444-0001

via fax to (301) 415-1101 or via e-mail to hearingdocket@nrc.gov.

This hearing involves Detroit Edison’s application to build an Economic Simplified Boiling 

Water Reactor at the Fermi site. Several environmental groups, including Beyond Nuclear, Citizens for 

Alternatives to Chemical Contamination, Citizens Environmental, Alliance of Southwestern Ontario, 

Don’t Waste Michigan and the Sierra Club, filed a legal challenge opposing the application. The groups 

argue that the environmental review of the proposed reactor fails to adequately analyze and discuss 

impacts on the eastern fox snake at the site. The groups also argue that quality assurance concerns 

regarding safety analysis work by Detroit Edison and its contractor prevent the NRC from issuing a 

license for the proposed reactor. The hearing will examine these two arguments. 

Documents related to the Fermi application are available on the NRC website. Documents 

regarding this ASLB proceeding are available on the NRC’s Electronic Hearing Docket by clicking on 

the folder entitled “Fermi_52-033-COL” on the left side of the page. More information about the role 

of the ASLB in the licensing process is available on the NRC website.