A fifth revision to the design phase of the proposed second reactor at Grand Gulf Nuclear Station was submitted in May to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, project managers said Thursday.

Requests were made of GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy, the contract component supplier for the planned addition to the boiling water reactor, for more information concerning the critical parts, senior project manager Eric Oesterle said.

Agency officials downplayed the stalled design phase and remained confident the licensing timeline would stay on pace for 2010.

Earlier design planning took place before Entergy Nuclear’s July 2007 project development agreement with GE-Hitachi. No firm timeline exists to fully review the latest specifications, Oesterle said.

“We have to evaluate the review schedule,” Oesterle said.

Ruth Pullen of Byram and about 50 others who gathered at Port Gibson City Hall to comment on a pending environmental impact study voiced concerns over the integrity of both processes.

“I don’t see how you can have it (the EIS) with an uncertified design,” Pullen said.

The design and site-specific safety reviews are part of the Combined License Application, part of a process underway to add a second reactor at Grand Gulf. It would be the nation’s first licensed reactor since 1996.

Initial phases resulted in the site being found environmentally sound. Though a decision to build the second unit, called Unit 3 by the agency to set it apart from past scrapped reactor addition plans, is not official, Entergy Nuclear and the rest of the NuStart Energy Development consortium has positioned to start by 2017.

An EIS is required for issuing a combined license. It will be in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, which aims to balance economic and environmental effects of a federal project. Public comments on those effects will be accepted through July 29. A preliminary EIS is expected by May 2009, with a final draft set for May 2010.

Previous public sessions held by federal regulators brought issues of emergency preparedness and tax revenue, both outside the bounds of federal oversight.

“You need to start planning for this infrastructure today,” Mitch Monsour, Claiborne County Hospital administrator, told project experts.

To commentComments on the environmental scope of the Grand Gulf Combined License review may be made via mail and electronically. Written comments may be mailed to Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Mail Stop T-6D59, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001. They may also be hand-delivered to Room T-6D59, Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md. from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. during federal workdays. Comments may be sent via e-mail to GRANDGULF.COLAEIS@ nrc.gov.The deadline for comments is the close of business July 29. Information about the scoping process and development of the EIS may be obtained from environmental project manager Tamsen Dozier at 301-415-2272 or via email at Tamsen.Dozier@nrc.gov.Dr. George Ross, president of Alcorn State University, spoke of the opportunities anticipated by the reactor’s construction.

“It’s a high-tech oasis in a socially and economically depressed area,” Ross said, adding it will help the university’s efforts to add about $200 million in curriculum and infrastructure upgrades over the next three years.

Some talked up the need for Claiborne County to find ways to fund its emergency preparedness capabilities in advance of any expansion of the current plant.

“Right now, it’s a question mark,” said A.C. Garner, former Claiborne County Emergency Management Director.

District 2 Supervisor Michael Wells said after the meeting the Board of Supervisors is exploring ways to obtain federal and state aid on funding a permanent location for its emergency operations center. Its current facility is temporary because toxic mold was found in the former site, Wells said.

Distribution of tax revenue, a lingering sore point even with staunch supporters of plant expansion, was mentioned.

“The state legislature took that away from us,” Claiborne County resident Phil Segrest said. “They don’t do that to the gambling facilities or the Nissan plant.”

Initially, the total annual assessment, about $16 million, was, under state law, paid to the county which at the time was operating on an annual budget of about $800,000. Within a few years, however, legislators changed the statute to leave the largest share to Claiborne County and Port Gibson, but to apportion the remainder among cities and counties served by the utility.

Grand Gulf, a boiling water reactor, employs more than 700 people. Construction of a second reactor would generate more than 1,400 construction jobs and employ about 400 full-time workers once complete.