ML080720335

Comment (7) of Chatham County Board of Commissioners Opposing Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for License Renewal of the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant

ML080720335
Person / Time
Site:	Harris
Issue date:	03/03/2008
From:	Chatham County, NC, Board of Commissioners
To:	Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing Branch
References
72FR71973 00007
Download: ML080720335 (2)

Text

Date:

March 03, 2008 To:

US Nuclear Regulatory Commission 17)

From:

Chatham County Board of Commissioners

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Subject:

Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory l

Commission Draft (NRC) Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS)

Cl) for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement 33 At their March 03, 2008 meeting, the Board of Commissioners adopted and is herewith submitting comments for your consideration on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Draft Generic Environmental Impact (GELS) for License Renewal of the Shearon-Harris Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 (Supplement 33)

Background

The Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GElS) and Supplement concern Progress Energy's November, 2006 request for an extension of their license to operate the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant, which expires in 2026. They are requesting a 20-year extension to operate through 20460: This Suppleme.t to theqLGEI addre sesissuesspe* fjc to the Harris Plant.

Com m ents i U, :

The timing of,thjis. reque.at, fr;,ar, extension ofthe operatifng licenses isinapp~r6o*riate* Major th*hes' in rthe.condnon#

oft-tssafetsse savailabityof sufficient water to operate e,

plant,,,safe y, hthe size and vulnerabihity of the, human ppolatn surrou6n'ding nethejiiant; and the presence ofFede, aty-,and, 5ate-lstedlthreatened and-endangereldspecies near the p ant and i n transmission line rights-of-ways, could occur before the expiration of the currentlicense in 2026 During-,the :next 18 years the area served by the Harris Plant could implement substantial energy conservationjijmq*

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,.,area ro,.e in line, with energy use patterns in other industrialized natioln§su,-Fo~rj2xample,,f tlight. sources, for new cons9truction and replace*mientbulbbs were compact florescentIights (CLF), two-thirds of the energy requirement currently'needed ~from regular florescent bulbs would be eliminated, resulting in a 67% energysavings. Furthermore, renewable power generation technologies could be developed. The license extension should not be considered until at leatf20**, bywhichtime the future need for the Harris Plant and its potential impact on envirqnme.entaheaithcould,be (oreerralistically evaluated. At tihat ti'm'furthericanges in these pararmeters cLOiri g

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the entire span of recorded human history in the absence of a long-range plan to protect the environment and human health raises serious concerns.

The sections of the report that address socioeconomic chairacteristics and environmental justice are based on data from the year 2000. They are already out of date. Rapid growth of the Chatham County population, and issuance of permits for additional housing that has not yet been built or occupied, are not taken into account in this Supplement. The Triangle J Council of Governments projects that the population of Eastern Chatham will more than triple by 2035.

Changes in population size could drastically affect the ability to evacuate people in the event of radiation releases. The Supplement does not assess the impact of evacuation on infants and toddlers, school children, the elderly, or institutionalized populations. These deficiencies must be addressed.

Environmental justice analyses in this report use an inappropriate criterion of 50% people of color or Hispanic people to evaluate impact. Environmental injustice can occur when these populations are below 50% but still disproportionately located near a hazardous site. The Supplement does not cite the substantial literature on assessments of environmental injustice in North Carolina based on continuous measures of population characteristics rather than an arbitrary 50% value.

Finally, with regards to environmental impacts of operation, many of the issues considered applicable to a!l plants should be subject to more site-specific review. In Chatham County, we are especially concerned with the impacts of transmission lines on water quality, and aquatic and

• terrestrial resources, all of which require site-specific analysis.