CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is seeking public comment on its preliminary environmental review that found no reason to withhold an operating license for the Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Bar 2 reactor near Spring City.
NRC staff will discuss a draft supplement to the final environmental statement in afternoon and evening meetings Dec. 8 at the Magnuson Hotel in Sweetwater.
TVA is seeking to operate a 1,200-megawatt electric, Westinghouse-designed pressurized-water reactor similar to Watts Bar Unit 1 that began operating in 1996.
The NRC must complete safety and environmental reviews before deciding whether TVA can begin operating the $2.5 billion Unit 2 reactor that is expected to be finished in 2013.
TVA supplies power to about 9 million people in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.
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