Groups sue to limit Plant Vogtle work

By Rob Pavey | Staff Writer
Friday, October 30, 2009

A consortium of environmental groups filed an appeal Thursday challenging the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's issuance in August of an early site permit for the planned addition of two new reactors at Georgia Power Company's Plant Vogtle.

The appeal was filed by Emory University School of Law's Turner Environmental Law Clinic and Diane Curran on behalf of five groups: Center for a Sustainable Coast, Savannah Riverkeeper, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Georgia Women's Action for New Directions and Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League.

The petition for review, docketed in the U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit, contends the NRC violated the Atomic Energy Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and other relevant laws in its decision to grant the early site permit and a related document, a limited work authorization.

At issue is how much construction should be allowed to occur at the site before the final permit for construction and operation is issued. The NRC does not expect to issue the actual license to construct the new nuclear reactors until 2011.

That license, known as a combined construction and operating license, faces several significant hurdles, including an environmental impact assessment and a safety analysis. The groups argue that as delays occur, costs are likely to rise and ratepayers in Georgia are on the hook due to legislation passed earlier this year that allows Georgia Power to request early cost recovery.

Work remains under way at the Vogtle site on the Savannah River in Burke County. Workers there are operating 20 hours per day to prepare the area for construction. Company officials have said the reactors -- known as units 3 and 4 -- will go online in 2016 and 2017, pending regulatory approval.

Earlier this month, the company building the new reactors -- Westinghouse -- was notified by the NRC that modifications would be required in the design of portions of the AP1000 reactors to ensure better compliance with regulations requiring containment areas to be protected against seismic and weather related events. Those modifications are under preparation.

Reach Rob Pavey at rob.pavey@augusta chronicle.com or (706) 863-6165, ext. 119.