NRC posts hearing notice for Crane license amendments

According to the notice, the three amendments would revise the renewed facility license and Appendix A, “Permanently Defueled Technical Specifications”; the radiological emergency preparedness plan and emergency action level scheme; and the physical security plan.

The amendment requests and a notice for the public to comment, request a hearing, or petition for leave to intervene were published in the February 24 Federal Register.

Comments must be filed by March 26, and any requests for a hearing or petitions for leave to intervene must be filed by April 27. The NRC has determined these proposed amendments involve no significant hazards consideration and do not endanger public health and safety.

Background: TMI-1 was shut down in 2019 due to economic challenges. In 2024, Constellation announced the signing of a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft to support a restart of the plant. The tech giant plans to purchase energy from TMI-1 as part of its goal to help match the power used by its data centers with carbon-free energy.

The potential restart has understandably drawn great interest from the public. The NRC held a public hearing on February 19 at Pennsylvania State University–Harrisburg to update local residents on the restart plans. News outlets in attendance reported people were largely in support of the restart, although there were some who voiced concerns or oppositions.

TMI-1 and TMI-2: Crane is located adjacent to TMI-2, which shut down in 1979 following a partial reactor meltdown and is in the process of being decommissioned by its owner, EnergySolutions.

The Department of Energy’s Idaho Operations Office submitted a license amendment application with the NRC earlier in February that would revise certain license conditions and technical specifications by changing the description of the DOE official who is responsible for the operation and nuclear safety of the TMI-2 spent fuel stored at the TMI–2 independent spent fuel storage installation at Idaho National Laboratory. This notice was posted in the February 19 Federal Register.