NRC: News Release - 2006-047 - NRC Finds No Significant Environmental Impacts from Proposed Grand Gulf Early Site Permit


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NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Office of Public Affairs	Telephone: 301/415-8200
Washington, DC 20555-0001	E-mail: OPA.Resource@nrc.gov
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No. 06-047

April 5, 2006

NRC FINDS NO SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FROM PROPOSED GRAND GULF EARLY SITE PERMIT
Printable Version

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has issued its final environmental impact statement (EIS) on the proposed Early Site Permit (ESP) for the Grand Gulf site, about 25 miles south of Vicksburg, Miss. The report contains the NRC’s finding that there are no environmental impacts that would prevent issuing the ESP.

The ESP process allows an applicant to address site-related issues, such as environmental impacts, for possible future construction and operation of a nuclear power plant at the site. The Grand Gulf ESP application was filed Oct. 21, 2003, by System Energy Resources Inc. (SERI), a subsidiary of Entergy Nuclear. If approved, the permit would give SERI up to 20 years to decide whether to build a new nuclear unit on the site and to file an application with the NRC for approval to begin construction.

The NRC staff’s conclusion is based on its independent review of a report submitted by SERI, taking into account consultations with federal, state, tribal and local organizations and consideration of comments received during the public scoping process. The staff’s conclusions include a finding that there are no environmentally preferable or obviously superior sites. The final EIS and related documents are available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md. They are also available on the NRC’s Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1817/index.html. In addition, the Harriette Person Memorial Library, located at 606 Main St., Port Gibson, Miss., will have a copy of the EIS available for public inspection.

Before the Commission can reach a final decision on issuing the permit, the NRC staff must complete revisions to the ESP’s safety evaluation report (SER). The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel must also conduct a mandatory hearing on the matter. The staff expects to issue the revised portion of the SER shortly, and it will be available on the agency’s Web site at this address: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-licensing/esp/grand-gulf.html#safetyeval. The NRC expects to finish the entire review process early in 2007.

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