NRC SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR 

PALO VERDE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL; MEETING SEPT. 15

 Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is seeking public comments on its preliminary 

conclusion that there are no environmental impacts that would preclude renewal of the operating 

licenses for the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Maricopa County, Ariz.

 As part of Palo Verde’s license renewal application, dated December 2008, Arizona Public 

Service Company (APS) submitted an environmental report. The NRC staff reviewed the report and 

performed an on-site audit. The staff also considered comments made during the environmental 

scoping process, including comments offered at public meetings held June 25, 2009.

The draft supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) is open for public comment 

until October 29 and will be the subject of two public meetings to be held Sept. 15. The first public 

meeting will be held in the Board Room at the Tonopah Valley High School in Tonopah, Ariz.

starting at 2 p.m. The second public meeting will be held in the Plaza Gallery of Komatke Hall at 

Estrella Mountain Community College in Avondale, Ariz. at 7 p.m. The two meetings will begin 

with identical overviews, including a discussion of the contents of the draft EIS, and then be opened 

for public comment. In addition, the NRC staff will host informal discussions 1 hour prior to each 

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

information about the license renewal process, but no formal comments on environmental issues 

will be accepted during these informal sessions. 

 NRC staff will consider written comments on the draft EIS. Comments should be submitted 

either by mail to the 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. Faxes are to be sent to RADB at 

(301) 492-3446, or by e-mail to PaloVerdeEIS@nrc.gov. 

 

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

the comments received and issue a final supplement to the generic EIS. That supplement will 

contain a recommendation regarding the environmental acceptability for license renewal.

 

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. 10-142 August 17, 2010
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. The current operating licenses for Palo Verde’s Units 1, 2 and 3 expire on June 1, 2025, April 

24, 2026 and November 25, 2027, respectively.

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

described in a generic EIS (NUREG-1437). The NRC issues a site-specific supplement to the 

generic EIS on each plant requesting license renewal. Issues specific to the Palo Verde plant are

addressed in Supplement 43.

 The Palo Verde draft supplement to the generic EIS and other related documents are 

available for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room at NRC headquarters, One 

White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md.; or electronically through the Agencywide 

Documents Access and Management System through the NRC website at: 

www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html. The accession number of the draft supplement is 

ML102180167. In addition, the draft supplement is available for public inspection at the following 

locations: Litchfield Park Branch Library, 101 West Wigwam Boulevard, Litchfield Park, Ariz. and 

Sam Garcia Western Avenue Library, 495 East Western Avenue, Avondale, Ariz.

 

A copy of the Palo Verde license renewal application is available on the NRC’s website at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/palo-verde.html. Additional 

information on the NRC’s license renewal review process is available at: 

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

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