NRC and Army Corps to hold meetings June 4 about proposed Pennsylvania nuclear plant

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said Thursday that the agency and the Army Corps of Engineers will hold meetings June 4 in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, to take comments on a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for a nuclear power plant that is proposed for Salem Township, Pennsylvania.

The meetings will be held from 3 to 5:30 p.m. and from 7:30 to 10 p.m. in Monty’s Building, Upper Campus, at Bloomsburg University, located at 400 E. Second St. NRC and Army Corps staff will also hold open houses for one hour prior to each meeting at the same location, although formal comments will only be accepted during the meetings.

PPL Corp. submitted the application in October 2008 for the construction of a new reactor -- to be named Bell Bend -- on a site adjacent to the Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, nuclear power plant the company owns and operates. The proposal calls for the use of a single U.S. Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) at the site, a design that has not been approved by the NRC.

On April 24, the NRC and Army Corps, Baltimore District, issued the DEIS. The NRC staff’s preliminary environmental recommendation is that a license for the new reactor could be issued.

Public comments on the DEIS will be accepted through July 7. A copy of the DEIS and the notice for the June 4 meetings are on the NRC’s website: www.nrc.gov.