Public Hearings Scheduled Over Nuclear License Renewal
WASHINGTON, Feb. 14- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a public meeting March 8 in Plymouth over Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station’s license renewal.
The meeting, the first scheduled in Pilgrim’s multi-step renewal process since it filed its application on Jan. 27, is intended to explain the license renewal process.
“The [commission] staff will give a presentation to the public,” said Diane Screnci, a public relations officer at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Region 1 office, “so that they’ll understand what our review entails and what opportunities they have to take part in the review.”
Time will be given during the presentation for public comment, she said.
The commission considers two main issues when a plant is up for review: the expected environmental impact and the safety aspects of running the plant for an additional 20 years.
“The staff is going to specifically look at how the plant has set out a plan for managing how components within the nuclear plant age over time,” said Scott Burnell, a public affairs officer at commission headquarters in Washington.
In renewing a license, the commission does not review issues of security or of where a plant disposes of its spent fuel. These issues are reviewed much more frequently by local, regional and national organizations, according to Burnell.
“It doesn’t make much sense to consider these issues over a 20-year period,” he said.
For part of the process, the commission will seek public comment, particularly on environmental issues around the Pilgrim plant, including the impact of the plant’s cooling system on marine life and endangered species.
“There also will be an opportunity for the public to request a hearing, and there is a time frame associated with this,” Screnci said.
The hearing, if requested, would be conducted by the commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel.
According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Web site, the hearing request period would begin sometime in mid-March and end in mid-June.
The second public meeting on the Pilgrim Plant renewal application will focus heavily on environmental issues, Screnci said.
“We call it our scoping meeting,” she said, “where we see what the ‘scope’ of the power plant’s impact will be on the environment. It’s a meeting to take comments from the public to see what should be included in our environmental review.”
This meeting will be held between late June and early July if all proceedings run according to schedule.
The renewal process could take up to 30 months to complete, said David Tarantino, a spokesman for Pilgrim.
The power plant’s current license to operate is set to expire June 8, 2012.
The March 8 meeting is scheduled for 7-9 p.m. at Memorial Hall in Plymouth.
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