NRC's Final Environmental Impact Statement for Fermi 3

The following link at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission website will take you to the full documentation for the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Detroit Edison's proposed new Fermi 3 reactor:

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr2105

In addition, it can be accessed at the links below.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has posted its Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for Detroit Edison's proposed new Fermi 3 reactor targeted at the Lake Erie shoreline near Monroe, MI.

The full, official title of the document is: NUREG-2105, Vol. 1; Environmental Impact Statement for the Combined License (COL) for Enrico Fermi Unit 3, Final Report; Manuscript Completed: November 2012; Date Published: January 2013; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of New Reactors, Washington, D.C.; Regulatory Office, Permit Evaluation, Eastern Branch; U.S. Army Engineer District, Detroit, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit Michigan.

You can find links to the voluminous document below.

Volume 1, Chapters 1 to 6:

Part 1 (155 pages, Front Cover to Page 2-87); Part 2 (155 pages, Page 2-88 to Page 2-242); Part 3 (155 pages, Page 2-243 to Page 4-81); Part 4 (155 pages, Page 4-82 to Page 5-92); Part 5 (133 pages, Page 5-93 to Back Cover).

Volume 2, Chapter 7 to Appendix D:

Part 1 (140 pages, Front Cover Page to Page 9-4); Part 2 (140 pages, Page 9-5 to Page 9-144); Part 3 (140 pages, Page 9-145 to 9-284); Part 4 (140 pages, Page 9-285 to Page D-24); Part 5 (80 pages, Page D-25 to Page D-104); Part 6 (57 pages, Page D-105 to Back Cover Page).

Volume 3, Appendix E (549 pages)

Volume 4, Appendixes F to M:

Part 1 (80 pages, Front Cover Page to Page F-25); Part 2 (80 pages, Page F-27 to Page G-10); Part 3 (80 pages, Page G-11 to Page K-20); Part 4 (40 pages, Page K-21 to Page K-60); Part 5 (41 pages, Page K-61 to Back Cover Page).

Update on January 22, 2013 by admin

Below are links to Detroit Edison's Fermi 3 combined Construction and Operation License Application (COLA) Environmental Report (ER), Revision 3 (the current revision of record), for comparison and contrast with NRC's Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Final Environmental Impact Statement:

DTE Energy - Detroit Edison Fermi 3 COLA (Environmental Report), Rev. 3

Accession Number: ML110600498

Date Released: Monday, March 21, 2011

Package Contents

The following links on this page are to Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files. To obtain a free viewer for displaying this format, see our Plugins, Viewers, and Other Tools.

• ML110600476 - DTE Energy - Detroit Edison Fermi 3 COLA (Environmental Report), Rev. 3 - COL Part 03 - Environmental Report - Table of Contents (12 page(s), 2/14/2011)
• ML110600477 - DTE Energy - Detroit Edison Fermi 3 COLA (Environmental Report), Rev. 3 - COL Part 03 - Environmental Report - List of Tables (25 page(s), 2/14/2011)
• ML110600478 - DTE Energy - Detroit Edison Fermi 3 COLA (Environmental Report), Rev. 3 - COL Part 03 - Environmental Report - List of Figures (12 page(s), 2/14/2011)
• ML110600479 - DTE Energy - Detroit Edison Fermi 3 COLA (Environmental Report), Rev. 3 - COL Part 03 - Environmental Report - List of Acronyms (14 page(s), 2/14/2011)
• ML110600481 - DTE Energy - Detroit Edison Fermi 3 COLA (Environmental Report), Rev. 3 - Chapter 1 - Introduction (19 page(s), 2/14/2011)
• ML110600483 - DTE Energy - Detroit Edison Fermi 3 COLA (Environmental Report), Rev. 3 - Chapter 2 - Environmental Description - Subsection 2.1 - Site Location through Subsection 2.2 - Land (57 page(s), 2/14/2011)
• ML110600484 - DTE Energy - Detroit Edison Fermi 3 COLA (Environmental Report), Rev. 3 - Chapter 02 - Environmental Description - Subsection 2.3 - Water (263 page(s), 2/14/2011)
• ML110600485 - DTE Energy - Detroit Edison Fermi 3 COLA (Environmental Report), Rev. 3 - Chapter 02 - Environmental Description - Subsection 2.4 - Ecology (116 page(s), 2/14/2011)
• ML110600486 - DTE Energy - Detroit Edison Fermi 3 COLA (Environmental Report), Rev. 3 - Chapter 02 - Environmental Description - Subsections 2.5 - Socioeconomics through 2.8 - Related Federal Project Activities (544 page(s), 2/14/2011)
• ML110600487 - DTE Energy - Detroit Edison Fermi 3 COLA (Environmental Report), Rev. 3 - Chapter 02 - Environmental Description - Appendix 2A - History Aquatic Species - Appendix 2B - History T_E Species (30 page(s), 2/14/2011)
• ML110600488 - DTE Energy - Detroit Edison Fermi 3 COLA (Environmental Report), Rev. 3 - Chapter 3 - Plant Description (89 page(s), 2/14/2011)
• ML110600489 - DTE Energy - Detroit Edison Fermi 3 COLA (Environmental Report), Rev. 3 - Chapter 4 - Environmental Impacts of Construction (155 page(s), 2/14/2011)
• ML110600491 - DTE Energy - Detroit Edison Fermi 3 COLA (Environmental Report), Rev. 3 - Chapter 5 - Environmental Impacts of Operation (224 page(s), 2/14/2011)
• ML110600492 - DTE Energy - Detroit Edison Fermi 3 COLA (Environmental Report), Rev. 3 - Chapter 6 - Environmental Measurements and Monitoring Programs (72 page(s), 2/14/2011)
• ML110600493 - DTE Energy - Detroit Edison Fermi 3 COLA (Environmental Report), Rev. 3 - Chapter 7 - Environmental Impacts of Postulated Accidents Involving Radioactive Materials (37 page(s), 2/14/2011)
• ML110600494 - DTE Energy - Detroit Edison Fermi 3 COLA (Environmental Report), Rev. 3 - Chapter 08 - Need For Power (78 page(s), 2/14/2011)
• ML110600495 - DTE Energy - Detroit Edison Fermi 3 COLA (Environmental Report), Rev. 3 - Chapter 9 - Alternatives to the Proposed Action (117 page(s), 2/14/2011)
• ML110600496 - DTE Energy - Detroit Edison Fermi 3 COLA (Environmental Report), Rev. 3 - Chapter 9 - Alternatives to the Proposed Action - Appendix 9A - Site Profiles (46 page(s), 2/14/2011)
• ML110600497 - DTE Energy - Detroit Edison Fermi 3 COLA (Environmental Report), Rev. 3 - Chapter 10 - Environmental Consequences of the Proposed Action (35 page(s), 2/14/2011)

Update on January 22, 2013 by admin

NRC's Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Combined License (COL) for Enrico Fermi Unit 3 (NUREG-2105, Volume 1)

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr2105/v1/index.html 

Cover Through Chapter 2 (PDF - 13.1 MB)

Chapter 3 – Chapter 5 (PDF - 15.1 MB)

Chapter 6 – Chapter 8 (PDF - 4.56 MB)

NRC's Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Combined License (COL) for Enrico Fermi Unit 3 (NUREG-2105, Volume 2)

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr2105/v2/index.html

NUREG-2105, Volume 2: Chapter 9 through Appendix L (PDF - 37 MB)

Chapter 9 – Chapter 10 (PDF - 2.03 MB)

Appendix A – Appendix K (PDF - 16.4 MB) 

Arnie Gundersen: "something does not make sense here"

Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds AssociatesCommenting on the loud rumors that Entergy Nuclear's Vermont Yankee -- and other relatively small, single unit, four decade old atomic reactors -- may be forced to "retire" due to "economic reasons" (such as the inability to afford needed major safety repairs), Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds Associates had this question:

"The US is building new nuclear plants in Georgia and SC that cost $20 billion while at the same time contemplating the shutdown of dozens of older reactors that cost $200M …. something does not make sense here."

"The Rust-Bucket Reactors Start to Fall"

Harvey WassermanHarvey Wasserman, editor of Nukefree.org and author of Solartopia, has written a blog inspired by the announced closure of the Kewaunee atomic reactor in Wisconsin. He begins by stating 'The US fleet of 104 deteriorating atomic reactors is starting to fall. The much-hyped "nuclear renaissance" is now definitively headed in reverse.'

He points out that Kewaunee may be but the first domino to fall, describing the impact of "low gas prices, declining performance, unsolved technical problems and escalating public resistance" at numerous other old, age-degraded, troubled reactors across the U.S., including San Onofre, CA; Crystal River, FL; Cooper and Fort Calhoun in NE; Vermont Yankee; Indian Point, NY; Oyster Creek, NJ; and Davis-Besse, OH. But Harvey also points out the momentum applies to new reactors as well, such as at Vogtle, GA and Summer, SC, as well as overseas, in the wake of Fukushima, not only in Japan, but also India, and even Europe, led by Germany's nuclear power phase out.

Harvey writes about the flagship new reactors proposed in the U.S.:

"The two reactors under construction in Georgia, along with two in South Carolina, are all threatened by severe delays, massive cost overruns and faulty construction scandals, including the use of substandard rebar steel and inferior concrete, both of which will be extremely costly to correct.

A high-priced PR campaign has long hyped a "nuclear renaissance." But in the wake of Fukushima, a dicey electricity market, cheap gas and the failure to secure federal loan guarantees in the face of intensifying public opposition, the bottom may soon drop out of both projects.

A proposed French-financed reactor for Maryland has been cancelled thanks to a powerful grassroots campaign. Any other new reactor projects will face public opposition and economic pitfalls at least as powerful."

Harvey, a senior advisor to Greenpeace USA and Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), will address "From Fukushima to Fermi-3: Getting to Solartopia Before It's Too Late" in Dearborn, MI on Dec. 7th at the official launch event for the new organization, the Alliance to Halt Fermi-3.

"From Fukushima to Fermi-3: Getting to Solartopia Before It's Too Late"

Harvey Wasserman, Senior Advisor to Greenpeace USA and Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS)Keith Gunter (a Beyond Nuclear Launch Partner) and Carol Izant, Co-Chairs of the Alliance to Halt Fermi-3, have announced that nationally renowned author and activist Harvey Wasserman (pictured left) will speak on Friday, December 7th from 7-9 PM at the Dearborn (Michigan) Public Library, located at 16301 Michigan Avenue (between Southfield & Greenfield, adjacent to the AMTRAK station).

Harvey's presentation, entitled "From Fukushima To Fermi-3: Getting To Solartopia Before It's Too Late," represents the formal launch of the new organization, the Alliance to Halt Fermi-3. Harvey is a prolific author, including such books as Solartopia! Our Green Powered Earth, A.D. 2030, and the hot off the press How the GOP Could Steal the 2012 Election: Corporate Vote Theft and the Future of American Democracy. Harvey serves as the editor of NukeFree.org, and has been a leading anti-nuclear power activist since the early 1970s.

If you live near Metro Detroit, please come! And please spread the word to folks you know who reside in the area.

Beyond Nuclear is proud to currently serve as the fiduciary agent for the Alliance to Halt Fermi-3.

Beyond Nuclear, along with Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination (CACC), Citizens Environment Alliance of Southwestern Ontario (CEA), Don't Waste Michigan, and the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter officially intervened against the proposed new Fermi-3 atomic reactor in early 2009, shortly after nuclear utility Detroit Edison filed a combined Construction and Operating License Application (COLA) with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Beyond Nuclear welcomes the Alliance to Halt Fermi-3 to this important work!

Beyond Nuclear debates "thorium power" proponent at Sierra Club meeting

On October 10th, Beyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps debated Timothy Maloney, a proponent of so-called "thorium (nuclear) power," at a meeting of the Nepessing Group of the Sierra Club's Michigan Chapter, at Mott Community College's Regional Technical Center in Flint. The Nepessing Group of Michigan represents Sierra Club members in Genesee, Lapeer, and northern Oakland counties.

Kevin's research in preparation for the debate depended on: a Beyond Nuclear backgrounder compiled by Linda Gunter; "Thorium Fuel -- No Panacea for Nuclear Power," by Dr. Arjun Makhijani of Institute for Energy and Environmental Research and Michele Boyd of Physicians for Social Responsibility (2009); a Science Friday program entitled "Is Thorium a Magic Bullet for our Energy Problems?" featuring Dr. Makhijani (May 4, 2012); "Thinking about Thorium" by Dr. Gordon Edwards of Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility (Sept. 16, 2012); "Thorium Reactors: Back to the Dream Factory," by Dr. Edwards (July 13, 2011); and "What is the Thorium Cycle?" by Dr. Edwards (1978).

The Thorium-232/Uranium-233 nuclear fuel chain shares many similarities with the Uranium-235 and Plutonium-239 nuclear fuel chains, including the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation, the risk that reactors could unleash catastrophic amounts of radioactivity (particularly from intentional terrorist attacks or acts of warfare), the unsolved (unsolvable?!) radioactive waste problem, the astronomical expense of RDD (research, development, and demonstration) for "thorium reactors," and the environmental ruination downwind and downstream (as well as up the food chain and down the generations) from reprocessing facilities.