NRC to Hold License Renewal Hearings Thursday

Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials will hold two environmental impact hearings on Thursday at Sunnybrook Ballroom, regarding the license renewal process for Exelon's Limerick Generating Station. 

The first hearing will be at 2 p.m. and the second at 7 p.m. The hearings are open for public comment.

The license renewal would allow Limerick Generating Station's two units to continue operating until 2044 (Unit 1) and 2049 (Unit 2). 

The hearings follow a Draft Environmental Impact Statement issued by the NRC staff. 

"Based on its review, the NRC staff has preliminarily recommended that the Commission determine the adverse environmental impacts of license renewal for the Limerick plant are not so great that preserving the option of license renewal for energy planning decision-makers would be unreasonable," the NRC said in a press release.

Several hearings have already been held regarding the license renewal application. The most recent, in August 2012, focused on the environmental issues surrounding the plant. 

The NRC said in a press release that anyone who wishes to comment can pre-register by contacting Leslie Perkins at 1-800-368-5642, ext. 2375, or by sending an e-mail to leslie.perkins@nrc.gov.

Interested members of the public can also register to to speak before each meeting.

Written comments on the draft report will also be considered by the NRC staff. Comments can be submitted by mail to Cindy Bladey, Rules, Announcements and Directives Branch, Division ofAdministrative Services, Mail Stop TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,D.C. 20555-0001. The public comment period ends June 27.

Exelon Limerick Generating Station's draft environmental report and license renewal application are posted on the NRC web site. 

The report can be seen at the Pottstown Regional Public Library, at 500 E. High St. in Pottstown and at the Royersford Free Public Library, at 200 S. 4th Ave. in Royersford.