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Environmental Impact Statement - radioactive monticello

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8.0 <strong>Environmental</strong> <strong>Impact</strong>s of Alternatives to License<br />

Renewal<br />

This chapter examines the potential environmental impacts associated with denying the renewal<br />

of an operating license (OL) for Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant (Monticello) (the no-action<br />

alternative); the potential environmental impacts from electric generating sources other than the<br />

Monticello site; the possibility of purchasing electric power from other sources to replace power<br />

generated by Monticello and the associated environmental impacts; the potential environmental<br />

impacts from a combination of generating and conservation measures; and other generation<br />

alternatives that were deemed unsuitable for replacement of power generated by Monticello.<br />

The environmental impacts are evaluated using the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's<br />

(NRC's) three-level standard of significance-SMALL, MODERATE, or LARGE-developed<br />

using the Council on <strong>Environmental</strong> Quality guidelines and set forth in the footnotes to<br />

Table B-1 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 51, Subpart A, Appendix B:<br />

SMALL-<strong>Environmental</strong> effects are not detectable or are so minor that they will neither<br />

destabilize nor noticeably alter any important attribute of the resource.<br />

MODERATE-<strong>Environmental</strong> effects are sufficient to alter noticeably, but not to<br />

destabilize important attributes of the resource.<br />

LARGE-<strong>Environmental</strong> effects are clearly noticeable and are sufficient to destabilize<br />

important attributes of the resource.<br />

The impact categories evaluated in this chapter are the same as those used in the Generic<br />

<strong>Environmental</strong> <strong>Impact</strong> <strong>Statement</strong> for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants (GELS), NUREG-1 437,<br />

Volumes 1 and 2 (NRC 1996, 1999)(a) with the additional impact category of environmental<br />

justice.<br />

8.1 No-Action Alternative<br />

NRC's regulations implementing the National <strong>Environmental</strong> Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 specify<br />

that the no-action alternative be discussed in an NRC environmental impact statement (EIS),<br />

(see 10 CFR Part 51, Subpart A, Appendix A[4]). For license renewal, the no-action alternative<br />

refers to a scenario in which the NRC would not renew the Monticello OL. The Northern States<br />

Power Company (NSP) would then cease plant operations when the current license expires and<br />

initiate the decommissioning of the plant.<br />

€ The GElS was originally issued in 1996. Addendum 1 to the GElS was issued in 1999. Hereafter, all references<br />

to the "GEIS" include the GElS and its Addendum 1.<br />

August 2006 8-1 NUREG-1437, Supplement 26 1

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