PPL has submitted an application to construct and operate a new nuclear power plant at its Bell Bend Nuclear Power Plant site along the Susquehanna River in Salem Township, Luzerne County, Pa.

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The NRC [Nuclear Regulatory Commission] staff's preliminary environmental recommendation is that the license could be issued....

The ... conclusions are cursory, fatally flawed, and reek of regulatory negligence. There is no approved reactor design. There is no approved consumptive water use permit. There is no money.

TMI-Alert will request a formal audit by the Government Accountability Office to determine if regulatory collusion and willful manipulation of data has taken place....

PPL ... needs a federal subsidy of $4.5 billion or 80% of the projected cost of the project. This "nuclear loan" is guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury (that is - taxpayers), and the real cost, based on overruns in Florida and Texas, is actually $10 billion!

-- From testimony given before the NRC by Eric Epstein, Chairman, TMI-Alert, Harrisburg, Pa. A copy of his June 4, 2015 document is attached.

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Why build another plant if we still havent solved the issue of where the waste is going to go?

-- Eric Epstein quoted in Power plant owner moves forward with plans for reactor, by Elizabeth Skrapits, at this June 5, 2015  site of Hazelton, Pa.s Standard Speaker:

http://standardspeaker.com/news/power-plant-owner-moves-forward-with-plans-for-reactor-1.1893430

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For more information about the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and submitting comments (by July 7, 2015) on the PPL application, go to this website:
http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=NRC-2008-0603-0028

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Download PDF

June 3, 2015

Mr. Eric Epstein
Rock the Capital
4100 Hillsdale Road
Harrisburg, PA 17112

Re:     Right-to-Know Request Number 1400-15-150

Dear Mr. Epstein:

On May 27, 2015, the open-records officer of the Department of Environmental Protection (Department) received your written request for records. The Department is responding to your request under the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law, 65 P.S. **67.101 - 67.3104 (RTKL)

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Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 & 2 - Notice of Annual Assessment Meeting on June 11, 2015

Download ML15140A626

Contact:    Ralph DeSantis
                 Three Mile Island Generation Station

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TMI EMERGENCY SIREN TEST SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 4

Sirens to sound for three minutes at 12:15 p.m.
LONDONDERRY TWP, PA (June 1, 2015) — Exelon Generation will conduct its semi-annual, full volume test of the emergency warning sirens surrounding Three Mile Island Generating Station on Thursday, June 4 at approximately 12:15 p.m. This is one of two semi-annual tests scheduled for June and December each year.

Download Document

27 Pennsylvania Counties Remain in Drought Watch
Lack of precipitation major factor

HARRISBURG, PA -- Despite the recent precipitation events, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is maintaining a drought watch for 27 counties across Pennsylvania because parts of the state have below-average groundwater and in some areas surface water levels.

“We are still recovering from a very dry fall and below-normal precipitation this winter,” Acting DEP Secretary John Quigley said. “These factors have contributed to low groundwater and surface water levels mostly in the northeast and central portions of the state.”

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Please  sign MAREA petition urging the PUC to stop new rules on PA solar.

Right now, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is reconsidering new rules affecting those who have or want solar. The public has until Wednesday, May 27 to provide input. Read more about PA PUC's proposed rules.

In July of last year, the PA PUC proposed new rules affecting those who have or want solar. Joining the efforts of clean energy advocates across the state, MAREA submitted signatures and comments from more than 650 individuals and small business owners. Thank you! The PA PUC heard us and responded with revisions to the proposed rules. Even with revisions, however, the proposed rules present areas of real concern. Please help continue to urge the PA PUC to support clean energy development in PA with rules that are fair, simple and environmentally responsible.

Please sign MAREA petition urging the PA PUC to stop new rules on PA solar.

(It's quick, easy...and important. Your information will NOT be shared with others.)

Savannah River Site Watch
www.srswatch.org
For Immediate Release
May 9, 2015

Redacted DOE Plutonium Disposition Report Obtained, Gives Details of $47.5 Billion to $110.4 Billion Yet to be Spent on Plutonium Fuel (MOX) Boondoggle, Finished in 2059 to 2115

Aerospace Report Affirms that MOX Project at SRS Not Sustainable at Current Funding Level

“Plutonium Disposition Study Options Independent Assessment” linked here:
http://www.srswatch.org/uploads/2/7/5/8/27584045/aerospace_final_redacted_plutonium_disposit
ion_tor_april13_f
inal_release_050815.pdf

Columbia, SC-- A long-awaited report commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on costs for two methods of plutonium disposition was released to some members of the public by Congress late on Friday afternoon, May 8. The redacted report provides details on the skyrocketing cost estimate for the problem-plagued plutonium fuel (MOX) project now under construction at DOE’s Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina, one of the costliest U.S. Government construction projects ever undertaken.

The report confirms what Savannah River Watch has been saying -that the current funding level of $345 million per year has placed the project on a shut-down track. The report, using the term “real year” (RY) for equivalent cost in future years, states that the MOX plant “construction cannot be completed at current (FY14) funding level (350M RY$/year cost cap on construction/capital) and the assumed escalation rates (4% construction and capital, 2% labor).”

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Energypath is the region's largest sustainable energy event attracting industry professionals, policymakers and academia throughout the region and across the United States.

Energypath is a week-long event consists of a three day pre-conference energy camp and a two day conference.  The energy camps are hands-on training in renewable energy technologies such as wind, solar pv, biomass, and micro-hydro.  You can attend all or just part of the event to receive the scholarship. A scholarship will cover meals, housing, an energy camp, and the conference.

To assist you, the Sustainable Energy Fund is proud to provide full scholarships to students and educators on a first come, first serve basis to attend Energypath 2015 at University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania July 20th through July 24th.

To register and learn more about Energypath 2015 call 610-264-4440, visit Energypath 2015 Scholarships.

Register now! Time and space are limited.  Thank you and we look forward to seeing you!

May 12, 2015

Public Utility Commission v. PPL Electric Utility Corporation

Rate Increase
Public Input Hearing Notice

This is to inform you that Public Input Hearing(s) on the above-captioned case will be held as follows:

Type:              Telephonic, In Person and Video Broadcast Public Input Hearing
Date:              Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Time:              1:00 p.m. & 6:00 p.m.
Location:         Hearing Room1
                       Commonwealth Keystone Building
                       400 North Street
                       Harrisburg, PA  17120

 PUC Website: http://www.puc.pa.gov/

Presiding:         Administrative Law Judge Susan D. Colwell
                         PO Box 3265
                         Harrisburg, PA  17105-3265
                         Phone: 717.787.1399
                         Fax: 717.787.0481

Complainants, who wish to testify at the telephonic public input hearing, must contact the Office of Consumer Advocate (OCA) by Thursday, May 26, 2015, at 5:00 p.m., to provide your name, telephone number, and the topic of your testimony.  You may call the OCA toll free at 1-800-684-6560 or 1-717-783-5048. Beginning at 1:00 p.m. & 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2, 2015, consumers will testify in the order they signed up.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call this office.

If you have any hearing exhibits to which you will refer during the hearing, 3 copies must be sent to the Administrative Law Judge and 1 copy each must be sent to every other party.  All copies must be received at least 3 days before the hearing.

Except for those individuals representing themselves, the Commission's rules require that all parties have an attorney; therefore, you should have an attorney of your choice file an entry of appearance before the scheduled hearing.

If you are a person with a disability, and you wish to attend the hearing, we may be able to make arrangements for your special needs.  Please call the scheduling office at the Public Utility Commission at least five (5) business days prior to your hearing to submit your request.

If you require an interpreter to participate in the hearings, we will make every reasonable effort to have an interpreter present.  Please call the scheduling office at the Public Utility Commission at least ten (10) business days prior to your hearing to submit your request.

· Scheduling Office:  717.787.1399
· AT&T Relay Service number for persons who are deaf or hearing-impaired:  1.800.654.5988