Many hurdles remain for Progress Energy's proposed nuclear power plant

Even if Progress Energy moves forward with plans to build a nuclear power plant on a 3,000-acre tract in Levy County, there are plenty of regulatory hoops that the utility company would have to jump through before construction could begin.

Years of paperwork, public hearings and environmental and safety tests are in the offing.

And even if everything goes smoothly, the plant would likely not be ready to open before 2016.

Progress officials said Tuesday the company intended to file for a combined construction/operating license permit with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

But one of the first steps company officials must take is to prove to the Florida Public Service Commission - the state's regulatory authority for utilities - that a power plant is needed. Progress officials have already indicated their primary evidence is a customer base in its 35-county service area that they expect to grow by 25 percent in the next 10 years.

"You sit down (with the PSC) and say 'Here are our needs and here's the technology we've decided on,'" said Buddy Eller, Progress' Florida communications manager. Progress has not yet decided on a vendor for the reactor.

A public hearing would be held within 90 days from the time Progress filed its application of need, and then PSC commissioners would make a decision on the application within a 135-day time frame, said PSC spokesman Todd Brown. If the PSC approved the project, then the matter would go to the state Department of Environmental Protection for siting and approval.

The most significant hurdle for Progress to pass would be the license review of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Roger Hannah, spokesman for the NRC's regional office in Atlanta, said the process is a lengthy one.

"It's about a three- to three-and-a-half-year process, more or less," Hannah said.

The NRC's lengthy review would include:

-Studying physical characteristics of the plant site including seismic, meteorological and geological data;

-The design of the reactor;

-The applicant's technical qualifications to operate the plant;

-Environmental impact including a study of possible discharges from the plant;

-How staff at the power plant plan to respond to possible accidents.

A few months into the license review process, there would also be a hearing required by federal law. If Progress does file for a license then that meeting would be held in Levy County where the public would be allowed to address questions or voice concerns about the plant.

"It would be as close to the (plant) site as we can get it so we can make it as accessible to as many people as possible," Hannah said.

While there are other opportunities for public hearings before or during the construction process, those are possible only if a person or group has demonstrated that the plant presents a danger to the community or that NRC staff has not properly addressed an environmental issue, Hannah said. If those hearings are required, they would be held in front of a three-judge panel from the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.

Hannah said that if Progress does decide to build the plant and the license is approved, then NRC inspectors would monitor every step of the construction process. Once the plant is finished, then the NRC would employ" resident" inspectors who would live at or near the plant site to constantly monitor a plant's performance.

"They are either at the site or available to get to the site very quickly all the time," Hannah said.

In its timeline, Progress said if it does move forward with the plant and its combined license is granted, then construction would begin in 2010 or 2011.

Eller said if Progress does to decide to build then company officials would welcome the opportunity to address public concerns during the review process.

"Our intent is to be open and transparent and to try to be as informative as possible," Eller said.