Final Environmental Impact Statement for Combined License (COL) for Enrico Fermi Unit 3 (NUREG-2105, Volume 1)

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Publication Information

Manuscript Completed: November 2012
Date Published: January 2013

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Office of New Reactors
Washington, DC 20555-0001

Regulatory Office
Permit Evaluation, Eastern Branch
U.S. Army Engineer District, Detroit
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Detroit, MI 48226

Availability Notice

Abstract

This environmental impact statement (EIS) has been prepared in response to an application submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by Detroit Edison for a construction permit and operating license (combined license or COL). The proposed actions related to the Detroit Edison application are (1) NRC issuance of a COL for a new power reactor unit at the Detroit Edison Enrico Fermi Atomic Power Plant (Fermi) site in Monroe County, Michigan; and (2) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) permit action to perform certain regulated activities on the site. The USACE is participating with the NRC in preparing this EIS as a cooperating agency and participates collaboratively on the review team.

This EIS includes the NRC staff's analysis, which considers and weighs the environmental impacts of constructing and operating a new nuclear unit at the Fermi site and at alternative sites, and mitigation measures available for reducing or avoiding adverse impacts. Based on its analysis, the staff determined that there are no environmentally preferable or obviously superior sites.

The EIS includes the evaluation, in part, of the proposed action's impacts on the public interest, including impacts on waters of the United States pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriations Act of 1899. The USACE will decide whether to issue a permit on the basis of the EIS evaluation of the probable impacts on the public interest, including cumulative impacts, of Detroit Edison's proposed activities that are within the USACE scope of analysis; USACE verification of compliance with the requirements of USACE regulations and the Clean Water Act Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines; and any supplemental information, evaluations, or verifications that may be outside the NRC's scope of analysis and not included in this EIS, but are required by the USACE to support its permit decision.

After considering the environmental aspects of the proposed action, the staff's recommendation to the Commission is that the COL be issued as proposed.^(a) This recommendation is based on (1) the application, including the Environmental Report (ER) submitted by Detroit Edison; (2) consultation with Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies; (3) the staff's independent review; (4) the staff's consideration of comments related to the environmental review that were received during the public scoping process and on the draft EIS; and (5) the assessments summarized in this EIS, including the potential mitigation measures identified in the ER and this EIS. The USACE permit decision would be made following issuance of this final EIS and completion of its permit application review process and permit decision documentation.

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^(a) As directed by the Commission in CLI-12-16, the NRC will not issue the COL prior to completion of the ongoing rulemaking to update the Waste Confidence Decision and Rule (see Section 6.1.6 of this EIS). NUREG-2105 iv January 2013 and on the draft EIS; and (5) the assessments summarized in this EIS, including the potential mitigation measures identified in the ER and this EIS. The USACE permit decision would be made following issuance of this final EIS and completion of its permit application review process and permit decision documentation.