Media Advisory: Meeting on Watts Bar reactors
What: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is holding public meetings on Tuesday, October 6 in Sweetwater, TN to discuss the agency’s review of TVA’s application to build and operate a second nuclear reactor at the Watts Bar nuclear power plant in Rhea County, about halfway between Knoxville and Chattanooga. Concerned citizens and organizations in Tennessee, including local chapters of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, Sierra Club, Tennessee Environmental Council, and We the People, Inc. among others, will be available to reporters.
When: Tuesday, October 6, 2009 from 1:30-4:30 pm and 6:30-10 pm (NRC staff will also be available for informal discussions with members of the public during “open house” sessions from 12:30-1:30 pm and 5:30-6:30 pm)
Where: Magnuson Hotel, 1421 Murrays Chapel Road in Sweetwater, Tennessee, (423) 337-3541, http://www.magnusonhotels.com/magnuson-hotel-sweetwater. From Knoxville – I-75 South to exit 60 – hotel on right. From Chattanooga – I-75 North to exit 60 – hotel on left. Why: This will likely be the only public meetings before the NRC issues a draft
Environmental Impact Statement. Unlike new reactors being proposed in the region, TVA is using the old federal licensing process. Limited opportunities remain for the public to raise environmental and public health and safety concerns with operating another nuclear reactor in Tennessee. How can the public engage if they cannot attend? Written comments must be submitted by October 30, 2009. Mail: Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, Mailstop TWB-05B01, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. [email protected].
Click here for the NRC’s information on the Watts Bar application process.
Click here for more information on TVA’s plans for Watts Bar.
Click here for more information on concerns with Watts Bar, please visit Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.
