No environmental factors preclude issuing combined licenses for two nuclear reactors proposed to be built at the Summer nuclear station in South Carolina, federal regulators have found.

South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) and Santee Cooper are applying for licenses to build and operate two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors adjacent to the existing Summer nuclear power plant. The companies submitted the application March 27, 2008. The AP1000 is a 1,100 MWe pressurized-water reactor design the Nuclear Regulatory Commission certified in 2006. The agency is reviewing Westinghouse’s May 2007 application to amend the certified design.

The NRC and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District, completed the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the combined licenses. The Corps of Engineers will use the information in making its federal permit decision.

The decision is part of the overall Summer application review. NRC staff continues to compile its final safety evaluation report, which will include recommendations from the NRC’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, an independent group of nuclear safety experts. The NRC’s final licensing decision will be based on the final environmental impact statement and the safety evaluation findings, along with a ruling from the five-member Commission.

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