Advisory: Duane Arnold Oral Argument Thursday August 13th @ 9:00 am - 12:00 noon Eastern

[Michael J Keegan]

Dear No Nuke Community, 

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Michael J. Keegan

Don't Waste Michigan

Media Advisory for Thursday August 13th @ 9:00 am to 12:00 noon Eastern

 

Duane Arnold nuclear power plant shutdown in 2020 seeks unprecedented restart 

 

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission Licensing Board will hear oral arguments Thursday, August 13 beginning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern on a Petition for Leave to Intervene in opposition to the proposed restart of the Duane Arnold Energy Center (nuclear power plant) by Physicians for Social Responsibility Iowa. PSRI has raised five different claims, called "contentions," that should be addressed before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission can consider whether to allow the plant to resume power generation. Meeting Info  

 

Members of the public and media may listen to the oral argument on a listen-only telephone line by dialing: (301) 576-2978 and entering passcode 461 608 405#.  This is listen in only, no questions or comments will be taken.

 

Here is the Memorandum and Order  from Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) setting up the hearing.

 

Specific Petition Contentions can be found at ML26173A206, This is the Petition for Leave to Intervene filed by PSRI titled: "Petition to Intervene and Request for Adjudicatory Hearing by Physicians for Social Responsibility Iowa", filed June 22, 2026. 

 

PETITIONERS’ CONTENTIONS

CONTENTION 1 (at page 16)
In support of its license amendment request to restart Duane Arnold, NextEra has
submitted an Environmental Report (“ER”). 9 The ER contains a purpose and need statement that
states the purpose and need for the license amendment is to restart Duane Arnold for operation
through the term of the current operational license in order to provide allegedly needed power.
This statement of purpose and need leaves no alternative for consideration other than the restart
of Duane Arnold. This is a violation of NEPA and basis for the Contention

 

CONTENTION 2 (at page 20)
The ER submitted by NextEra for Duane Arnold contains a discussion of alternatives but
the only alternative discussed, aside from the restart of Duane Arnold, is the no-action
alternative. There is no serious discussion of renewable energy alternatives that could provide
the power NextEra claims is necessary. Also, missing from the discussion of alternatives is the
fact that NextEra had planned to construct four large solar projects in the area near Duane
Arnold, but abandoned those projects in order to transfer the transmission tariffs to Duane
Arnold. So a viable alternative that had already been planned was arbitrarily rejected. This is a
violation of NEPA and basis for the Contention.

 

CONTENTION 3 (at page 25)
NextEra admits that there is no provision in law or regulation for the NRC to authorize
the restart of Duane Arnold as a closed reactor. NextEra is cobbling together a“pathway” to
restart, using a “creative” procedure based on existing regulations that it believes allows NextEra
to simply reverse the decommissioning process established by 10 C.F.R. § 50.82. Since there is
no dedicated regulatory procedure for restarting a closed reactor, the NRC has no authority to
approve the license amendments requested by NextEra and is basis for the Contention
NextEra has admitted that NRC regulations do not provide a regulatory procedure that is
specially-created for restarting a closed reactor. 31

 

CONTENTION 4 (at page 30)
The proposed license amendments and supporting documents, including NextEra’s
Environmental Report, contain a minimal and substantively inadequate identification and
discussion of the effects of anthropocene climate change on the functioning and componentry of
the plant. Also, there is minimal and inadequate identification of the contributions that restored
plant operations would have on the global circumstances of anthropocene climate change as well
as upon the physical environment and creatures of eastern Iowa and is basis for the Contention.

 

CONTENTION 5 (at page 39)
NextEra has improperly segmented the proposed project for purposes of investigating
and compiling an environmental document to comply with NEPA. The proposed project includes
the Duane Arnold Energy Center and induced development in the form of the planned Google
data center complex to be constructed in or geographically proximate to Palo, Iowa which is no
more than three miles from Duane Arnold. By limiting the scope of the project for NEPA
purposes solely to the DAEC, NextEra has not addressed prospective cumulative climate change
impacts caused by these interrelated projects. There will be heat island effects caused by the
geographic proximity of the two facilities out to several miles from each. The combined impacts
of high-volume water usage for cooling both facilities mean millions of gallons will be drawn
daily from the Cedar River. The entire project must be evaluated for purposes of identification
and consideration of alternatives and mitigation steps. The true nature of the project must be
revealed in order to accurately understand the regional environmental impacts on the physical
environment of east central Iowa and the health and well-being of its residents.

 

Again, specific Petition Contentions can be found at ML26173A206, "Petition to Intervene and Request for Adjudicatory Hearing by Physicians for Social Responsibility Iowa", filed June 22, 2026. 

 

Contacts for documents and attorney interview scheduling: Michael J. Keegan mkee...@comcast.net

and  Kevin Kamps, kevin...@proton.me 

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