NRC seeks public comment on V.C. Summer SLR

Summer’s draft supplemental environmental impact statement is open for comment as the NRC considers extending the plant’s operating license from 60 to 80 years. The draft report includes the staff evaluation and preliminary conclusion that no environmental impacts preclude the license extension request.

Background: Summer Unit 1 is a pressurized water reactor, initially licensed in 1982 to operate for 40 years, until 2022. The NRC approved a first license renewal in 2004, extending operation for 20 years until 2042.

Dominion submitted the SLR application in August 2023, seeking to extend the license for an additional 20 years, until 2062. A final supplemental environmental impact statement is anticipated to be issued in June 2025. General information about reactor license renewal is also available on the NRC website.

Dominion’s North Anna nuclear plants in Virginia received SLRs in August; Unit 1’s operating license will now expire on April 1, 2058, and Unit 2’s will expire on August 21, 2060. Including North Anna, the NRC has now approved eight SLRs, authorizing those nuclear reactors to operate from 60 to 80 years. Seven more SLR applications are currently under review.

Share feedback: NRC staff will hold a webinar and an in-person meeting on the draft report. The webinar will be from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (EST) on December 17. The in-person meeting will be from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (EST) on January 9,2025, at the McCrorey-Liston School of Technology, 1978 State Hwy 215S in Blair, S.C. As part of these meetings, the staff will describe the environmental review process and accept comments from the public on the draft report.

Members of the public can also submit comments on the draft report three other ways:

• Online at regulations.gov, under Docket ID NRC-2023-0152.
• Via email to SummerEnvironmental@nrc.gov.
• By U.S. mail to Office of Administration, Mail Stop TWFN7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

What’s next? The deadline for submitting comments is January 21, 2025.