The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on a draft study detailing the environmental impacts of renewing the operating licenses of the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, located in Soddy Daisy. The draft environmental impact statement contains the NRC staff’s preliminary conclusion that the impacts would not preclude renewing the plant’s licenses for an additional 20 years.
NRC staff will hold two public meetings in Soddy Daisy on Sept. 17 to present the draft study’s findings and hear comments from the public. The meetings will be held at the Soddy Daisy City Hall, 9835 Dayton Pike, from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.
The Sequoyah plant has two pressurized water reactors. The current operating licenses are due to expire Sept. 17, 2020, for Unit 1 and Sept. 15, 2021, for Unit 2. The operator, Tennessee Valley Authority, submitted its renewal application Jan. 15, 2013.
The NRC’s review of the application consists of a technical safety review and an environmental review. The draft supplemental environmental impact statement is Supplement 53 to NUREG-1437, Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants. It is now available on the NRC’s electronic document database, ADAMS, under accession number ML14211A454.
In a related Federal Register notice, the NRC provided detailed instructions on how to submit written comments on the draft supplemental environmental impact statement. Comments will be accepted through Sept. 29.
The Sequoyah Nuclear Plant license renewal application and general information about reactor license renewal are available on the NRC website.