Document: NRC Regulatory Guide
Document ID: 01fb3132-b05a-41a0-ab81-466a6fb6f4d3
Document Type: regulatory_guide
Title: Preparation of Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power Plant License Renewal Applications (Rev. 1)
Source: NRC Regulatory Guide Division 4
Source URL: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML0916/ML091620409.pdf
Revision Date: 2023-06
Chapter: 
Section ID: RG-4.2S1
CFR Part: 
CFR Title: 

Content:
al issues in Appendix B to Subpart A of this part.” Applicants should describe the process it used to identify and select alternatives for reducing adverse impacts. Applicants should describe all of the alternatives considered and indicate which alternatives it evaluated in detail. Typical alternatives considered in this section include closed-cycle cooling or intake modification options for nuclear power plants that currently use once-through cooling. Environmental Impacts of Alternatives for Reducing Adverse Impacts This section should describe the impacts of the alternatives for reducing adverse effects identified for detailed consideration. The ER should describe the impacts in sufficient detail and in similar format to the proposed action so that reviewers may compare the effects of the alternatives with the effects of continued plant operations. Impact analyses should consider land use and visual resources, air quality and noise, geology and soils, hydrology (surface water and groundwater), ecological resources, historic and cultural resources, socioeconomics, human health, environmental justice, and waste management and pollution prevention. The impacts analyses should include direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts. For each alternative, the analysis should identify and, to the extent possible, quantify, unavoidable adverse impacts, irreversible and irretrievable resource commitments, and tradeoffs between short-term use and long-term productivity of the environment. The ER should analyze each alternative on a site-specific basis and in proportion to its significance. 7.3 No-Action Alternative For license renewal, the no-action alternative is a scenario in which the NRC takes no action (not even docketing an application for review) and results in the applicant’s operating license expiring at the end of the current licensing period. The applicant would still possess an operating license with its existing expiration date and could continue to operate the