NRC issues Palisades’ draft environmental review, seeks public comment
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is asking for public comments until March 3 on its environmental assessment (EA) and draft finding of no significant impact at Michigan’s Palisades nuclear power plant, where Holtec hopes to restart operations by the end of 2025.
NRC staff conducted the review after Holtec announced last year its intent to bring the 777-MWe pressurized water reactor back on line to help meet growing energy demand. Based on the environmental review, the NRC made the preliminary determination that the proposed actions would not significantly affect the “quality of the human environment,” according to its January 31 notice in the Federal Register.
The company is asking that the plant’s license transfer from Holtec Decommissioning International (HDI) to Palisades Energy—which hopefully by then will be authorized to operate the reactor until its current license expires in March 2031. In parallel, Holtec also asked the NRC for a subsequent license renewal that would allow Palisades to operate until at least 2051.
From the report: “The NRC staff determined that the environmental impacts of the proposed action [the plant restart] would be NOT SIGNIFICANT for each potentially affected environmental resource,” according to the Federal Register notice. “In addition, the NRC staff determined that the projected effects of climate change would not alter any of the impact determinations described in the EA.”
A closer look: Entergy ceased operations at Palisades in May 2022 and the following month transferred its license for the plant to HDI, a subsidiary of Holtec, for decommissioning. However, plans shifted, and with the help of grassroots stakeholders and state and federal lawmakers, Holtec announced plans to recommission the site.
The plan has garnered more than $3.1 billion in funding: a $1.5 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy, $3 million from the state of Michigan, and another $1.3 billion from rural electric cooperative grants.
What’s next: The public can submit comments until March 3 in the following ways:
- Online at regulations.gov, under Docket ID NRC-2024-0076.
- Email to PalisadesRestartEnvironmental@nrc.gov.
- By mail to Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN-7-A60M, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555- 0001.
Once NRC staff consider the feedback that comes in during 30-day public comment period, they will make a final determination on whether to prepare an environmental impact statement or if a finding of no significant impact will suffice.
