Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc.; Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2; Subsequent License Renewal
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-57 and NPF-5 to Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (Southern...
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-57 and NPF-5 to Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (Southern) for Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant (Hatch), Units 1 and 2, respectively.
DATES:
The NRC issued Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License
( printed page 36886)
Nos. DPR-57 and NPF-5 on June 11, 2026.
ADDRESSES:
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2025-0091 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You may obtain publicly available information related to this document using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website:
Go to
https://www.regulations.gov
and search for Docket ID NRC-2025-0091. Address questions about Docket IDs in
Regulations.gov
to Bridget Curran; telephone: 301-415-1003; email:
Bridget.Curran@nrc.gov.
For technical questions, contact the individual(s) listed in the
For Further Information Contact
section of this document.
NRC Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS):
You may obtain publicly available documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
To begin a search, select “Begin ADAMS Public Search.” For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at 301-415-4737, or by email to
PDR.Resource@nrc.gov.
For the reader's convenience, instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are provided in the “Availability of Documents” section.
NRC PDR:
The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
PDR.Resource@nrc.gov
or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brian Harris, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2277; email:
Brian.Harris2@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Discussion
Notice is hereby given that the NRC has issued Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-57 and NPF-5 to Southern for Hatch, Units 1 and 2, respectively. Southern is the operator of the facility. Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-57 and NPF-5 authorize Southern to operate Hatch, Units 1 and 2 at reactor core power levels not in excess of 2,804 megawatts thermal, in accordance with the provisions of the Hatch licenses and technical specifications.
The NRC staff documented the results of its environmental review of the Hatch subsequent license renewal (SLR) application in an environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI), which was issued and made publicly available in March 2026 as “Environmental Assessment for Subsequent License Renewal of Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2.” On the basis of its EA and its determination that the environmental impacts would be SMALL for each potentially affected resource area, the NRC staff concluded that Hatch SLR will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment; accordingly, the NRC staff determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for that proposed action. The EA included the NRC staff's recommendation that the adverse environmental impacts of SLR for Hatch are not so great that preserving the option of SLR for energy-planning decision-makers would be unreasonable. The NRC staff based this recommendation on (1) the analysis and findings in the NRC's Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, which the EA supplemented, (2) the applicant's environmental report, (3) the NRC staff's consultations with Federal, State, and local agencies and Indian Tribes, and (4) the NRC staff's independent environmental review.
Hatch Units 1 and 2 are boiling-water reactors located near Baxley, Georgia. Southern submitted its SLR application for Hatch on May 15, 2025, as supplemented by letters through February 26, 2026 (see the “Availability of Documents” section of this document). The NRC staff has determined that Southern's SLR application complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the NRC's regulations. As required by the Act and NRC regulations in title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR), Chapter I, “Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” the NRC has made appropriate findings, which are set forth in the subsequent renewed licenses.
Notice of the NRC's acceptance for docketing of the Hatch SLR application and an opportunity to request a hearing was published in the
Federal Register
on June 20, 2025 (90 FR 26331). In May 2026, the NRC staff issued its safety evaluation concerning the Hatch SLR application. In March 2026, the NRC staff published the EA and FONSI, and a notice of issuance of the EA and FONSI was published in the
Federal Register
on April 2, 2026 (91 FR 16756).
For further details with respect to this action, see (1) Southern's SLR application for Hatch, dated May 15, 2025, as supplemented by letters dated through February 26, 2026, (2) the NRC's safety evaluation, dated May 20, 2026, and (3) the NRC's EA and FONSI, dated March 31, 2026.
II. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to interested persons through ADAMS, as indicated.
Document description
Adams accession No.
NUREG-1437, Revision 2, “Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants,” Volumes 1-3, dated August 2024
ML24087A133 (Package).
Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, Application for Subsequent Renewal of Operating Licenses, dated May 15, 2025
ML25135A390 (Package).
Response to Request for Additional Information and Request for Confirmation of Information, Set 1, dated December 22, 2025
ML25356A532 (Package).
Supplement 1 to Application for Subsequent Renewal of Operating Licenses, dated December 22, 2025
ML25356A511 (Package).
Annual Update and Supplement 2 to the Application for Subsequent Renewal of Operating Licenses, Including Consolidated Implementation Actions Table, dated February 26, 2026
ML26057A455.
Environmental Assessment for Subsequent License Renewal of Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, dated March 31, 2026
ML26063A016.
Safety Evaluation Related to the Subsequent License Renewal of Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2, dated May 20, 2026