Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Combined License (COL) for North Anna Power Station Unit 3 (NUREG-1917)

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Publication Information

Manuscript Completed: February 2010
Date Published: February 2010

Division of Site and Environmental Review
Office of New Reactors
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC 20555-0001

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Abstract

This supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) includes the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff's analysis that considers and weighs the environmental impacts of constructing and operating a new nuclear unit (Unit 3) at the North Anna Power Station (NAPS) site near Mineral, Virginia, and the mitigation measures available for reducing or avoiding adverse impacts.

On November 27, 2007, the NRC issued Early Site Permit (ESP)-003 to Dominion Nuclear North Anna, LLC for the NAPS ESP site (the site of the proposed Unit 3). An ESP is an NRC approval of a site as suitable for construction and operation of one or more new nuclear units. The NRC's detailed review of the environmental impacts of constructing and operating new units at the NAPS ESP Site is documented in Environmental Impact Statement for an Early Site Permit (ESP) at the North Anna ESP Site (NUREG-1811), which was published in December 2006. Coincidentally, on November 27, 2007, Dominion submitted an application for a combined license (COL) for the NAPS site, referencing this ESP. A COL is a Commission approval for the construction and operation of one or more nuclear power facilities. For a COL application that references an ESP, the NRC staff, pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 51.75(c), prepares a supplement to the ESP EIS in accordance with 10 CFR 51.92(e).

NRC regulations related to the environmental review of COL applications are contained in 10 CFR Part 51 and 10 CFR Part 52, Subpart C. Pursuant to NRC regulations in 10 CFR 51.50(c)(1), a COL applicant referencing an ESP need not submit information or analyses regarding environmental issues that were resolved in the ESP EIS, except to the extent the COL applicant has identified new and significant information regarding such issues. In addition, pursuant to 10 CFR 52.39, matters resolved in the ESP proceedings are considered to be resolved in any subsequent proceedings, absent identification of new and significant information.

The NRC staff's recommendation to the Commission, considering the environmental aspects of the proposed action, is that the COL be issued. This recommendation is based on (1) the application, including the Environmental Report (ER), submitted by Virginia Electric Power Company, doing business as Dominion Virginia Power and the Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, collectively referred to as Dominion; (2) the staff's review conducted for the ESP application and documented in the ESP EIS; (3) consultation with Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies; (4) the staff's own independent review of potential new and significant information available since preparation and publication of the ESP EIS; (5) the staff's consideration of comments related to the environmental review that were received during the review process; and (6) the assessments summarized in this SEIS, including the potential mitigation measures identified in Dominion's ER and in the SEIS. The staff's evaluation of the safety and emergency preparedness aspects of the proposed action will be addressed in the staff's Safety Evaluation Report.