Environmental Impact Statement for an Early Site Permit (ESP) at the PSEG Site, Final Report (NUREG-2168, Volume 1)

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• Publication Information
• Abstract

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Publication Information

Manuscript Completed: October 2015
Date Published: November 2015

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

Regulatory Branch
Philadelphia District
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Philadelphia, PA 19107

Availability Notice

Abstract

This environmental impact statement (EIS) has been prepared in response to an application submitted on May 25, 2010 to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by PSEG Power, LLC, and PSEG Nuclear, LLC (PSEG), for an early site permit (ESP). The proposed actions requested in the PSEG application are (1) the NRC issuance of an ESP for the PSEG Site located adjacent to the existing Hope Creek Generating Station and Salem Generating Station, Units 1 and 2, in Lower Alloways Creek Township, Salem County, New Jersey, and (2) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) permit action on a Department of the Army permit application to perform certain construction activities on the site. The USACE is a cooperating agency with the NRC in preparing this EIS and participates collaboratively on the review team.

This EIS includes the review team's analysis that considers and weighs the environmental impacts of building and operating a new nuclear power plant at the proposed PSEG Site, at alternative sites and mitigation measures available for reducing or avoiding adverse impacts. The EIS also addresses Federally listed species, cultural resources, essential fish habitat issues, and plant cooling system design alternatives.

The EIS includes the evaluation of the proposed action's impacts on waters of the United States pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899. The USACE will conduct a public interest review in accordance with the guidelines promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under authority of Section 404(b) of the Clean Water Act. The public interest review, which will be addressed in the USACE permit decision document, will include an alternatives analysis to determine the least environmentally damaging practicable alternative.

After considering the environmental aspects of the proposed NRC action, the NRC staff's recommendation to the Commission is that the ESP be issued as requested. This recommendation is based on (1) the application submitted by PSEG, including Revision 4 of the Environmental Report (ER), and the PSEG responses to requests for additional information from the NRC and USACE staffs; (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 the public comment period following the publication of 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 will issue its Record of Decision based, in part, on this EIS.