NRC SEEKS COMMENTS ON DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT FOR IDAHO U

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NRC SEEKS COMMENTS ON DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT FOR IDAHO URANIUM ENRICHMENT PLANT; PUBLIC MEETINGS SCHEDULED


The Nuclear Regulatory Commission seeks public comment on a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for AREVA Enrichment Service’s proposed gas centrifuge uranium enrichment plant to be built in Eagle Rock, Idaho.

NRC staff will also hold public meetings Aug. 9 in Boise and Aug. 12 in Idaho Falls to describe the draft EIS and its preliminary conclusions and to take comments from members of the public. The Aug. 9 meeting, with the Snake River Alliance, an Idaho-based environmental advocacy group, will be held at the Oxford Suites Boise Hotel, 1426 S. Entertainment Ave., in Boise, from 7-9:30 p.m. The Aug. 12 meeting will be held at the Red Lion Hotel on the Falls Convention Center, 475 River Parkway in Idaho Falls, from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Staff members will be available informally for an hour before the Idaho Falls meeting to meet and talk with the public.


The draft EIS analyzes potential impacts of construction, operation and decommissioning of the proposed facility. It includes the NRC staff’s preliminary conclusion that the plant, to be called the Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility, would have mostly small impacts on the local environment, primarily during construction. The staff’s preliminary recommendation is that, unless safety issues mandate otherwise, AREVA should be issued a license to construct and operate the facility.



The draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility is available on the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-colle ... ff/sr1945/.


Public comments will be accepted through Sept. 13. They may be mailed to Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mailstop TWB-05-B01M, Washington, D.C., 20555-0001. Comments may also be emailed to EagleRock.EIS@nrc.gov. The report number, “NUREG-1945 draft,” should be specified in the subject line of any comments submitted.



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