NRC withdraws 80-year extensions for four units

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AtomInfo.Ru, PUBLISHED 27.02.2022

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has withdrawn its early decisions to extend operating licenses to 80 years for units No. 3/4 of Turkey Point NPP and No. 2/3 of Peach Bottom NPP.

News of the regulators' decision was published in the media, including reports from the Associated Press. The NRC website continues to state that the 80-year extension applications for these four units have been approved.

The withdrawal of extensions for the four units is associated with changes in the regulatory framework regarding the approval of the EIA. It is assumed that there will be no need to submit new applications, and approval of the updated version of the EIA will be sufficient for the re-entry of extension decisions into force.

"According to NRC Chairman Hanson, this is not a technical decision on the environmental impact of operating power plants beyond 60 years; it is a legal, procedural decision related to the specific wording of the Generic EIS (or GEIS) for reactor license renewal. The necessary changes outlined by Hanson include adding language that the GEIS should include one term of SLR, and removing "initial" from a specific regulation to include SLR," Breakthrough explains.

Due to changes in the regulatory framework, a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) must now be prepared for each license renewal period (for 20 years).

Recall that the renewal to 80 years in the United States is a re-renewal, since the initial term of the license in this country is 40 years.

The Breakthrough suggests that this change was made to the regulatory framework in order to reduce the risk of litigation on complaints from environmental and anti-nuclear organizations.

The direct operation of the four units will not be affected by NRC's decision to revoke license extensions up to 80 years, since all of them have valid licenses (extended up to 60 years) until the early 30s.

Licenses extended up to 80 years were also issued to units No. 1/2 of Surry NPP. In addition, applications for similar extensions for a further nine units are under consideration by the NRC and are being prepared for submission of applications for five units. No new information on these applications has yet been published.

Topics: USA

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