The Vogtle 3&4 AP1000 construction project was boosted by the news that a US Nuclear Regulatory Commission final supplemental environmental impact statement for early construction work and combined operating licences was positive.
In its Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) for a limited work authorization (LWA) and the combined construction & operation licenses (COL) for the proposed Vogtle Units 3 and 4 reactors, the NRC concluded that there are no environmental impacts that would preclude issuing the LWA and COLs for construction and operation of the proposed reactors at the site, near Waynesboro, Georgia.
The NRC staff issued a draft SEIS for the LWA and COLs in September 2010 that supplemented its environmental findings from the Early Site Permit issued for the Vogtle site in August 2009. The staff held a public meeting in October 2010 to gather comments on the draft SEIS. Southern Nuclear Operating Company submitted its new reactor application for Vogtle on March 23, 2008, and supplemented the application on Oct. 2, 2009. Southern is applying for licenses to build and operate two AP1000 reactors at the Vogtle site, adjacent to the company’s existing reactors approximately 26 miles southeast of Augusta, Ga. Westinghouse submitted an application to amend the already-certified AP1000, a 1100 megawatt electric design, on May 26, 2007.
The NRC’s publication of the FSEIS is only part of the overall Vogtle COL review. The agency staff continues to compile its final safety evaluation report (SER), which will include recommendations from the NRC’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, an independent group of nuclear safety experts. The NRC’s final licensing decision will be based on the FSEIS and SER findings, along with a ruling from the five-member Commission that heads the agency.
FilesFukushima-Daiichi parameters 31 March Reactor-by-reactor, system-by-system summary from JAIF on 31 March
